The Missing Parts
by Radwa
Summary: Covering what happened at CTU post day 1 to the begining of day 2,TM
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everybody, that's my first fic, English is my second language so sorry about language and grammar mistakes_

**Chapter 1**: Damn you Nina

Tony made his way back to the bullpen of CTU. He went straight to his station without a word. He was aware of everybody's eyes on him but he didn't care. He just received the biggest shock of his life. He couldn't believe that Nina – the sweet beautiful girl whom he was ready to do anything for - is a mole and a murderer. He wanted to yell, to cry, and to scream but he couldn't. He felt he was chocking. He stared at the computer screen but he didn't actually see it. His mind was miles away.

A hand over his shoulder brought him back to reality. He turned to find Milo who gave him a sympathy look then asked: "Are you ok?", Tony didn't answer; his eyes expressed it all and Milo understood.

To Milo, Nina was just a co-worker but he was shocked and angry. He couldn't even imagine how Tony felt so he squeezed Tony's shoulder as if to say he was there for him and left him to his thoughts.

Mason was on the phone with Ryan Chappelle. He wanted to yell at him. He was shocked just like everybody else but Ryan expected him to have answers. Ryan wanted Tony to be in charge of the investigation. Mason looked at the bullpen: "I can't, He looks so lost. He wouldn't be able to do it. Come on Ryan, cut him some slack. The guy just discovered his girlfriend is a mole"

After the conversation had ended, Mason went to speak with Tony. He sat next to him but Tony didn't seem to have noticed, Mason shook his shoulder gently, As Tony looked up, Mason froze. He had known Tony for a long time, the first thing he noticed when they met was his eyes; smart and honest as they were, they always had a sparkle of happiness, Mason always wondered how Tony managed to do his job with so much dedication and organize his personal life to keep himself happy. Now, Tony's eyes looked so dull and full of pain.

Mason pulled himself away from his thoughts: "Listen Tony, um, why don't you go home?", Tony looked him in the eye and practically whispered: "what possible difference could that make?".

The question took Mason by surprise as Tony continued: "I know what you are trying to do George and I thank you for it but that won't help. I'll go home to be with my thoughts, to stare at the unmade bed we shared this morning, to find her clothes in my closet, to smell her scent all over my apartment. Trust me, I am better off here"

Mason was speechless for a second then he had an idea: "listen, why don't you go to see Kim? Jack left to find Teri a while ago and I don't think she should be alone for a long time. keep her company till her parents come back.", Tony nodded quietly and left.

Mason sighed heavily. Even in his darkest moments, Tony was honest and straight. As Mason looked around, He saw the effects of the day's events on everybody. He muttered under his breathe: "Damn you Nina, what have you done to this place?"

* * *

Michelle joined the rest of her co- workers in the conference room at Division. Nobody knew why they were called. Everything was fine; Senator Palmer survived the day and the assassins were dead but now they all knew something was wrong. 

Michelle sighed as she dropped into a chair. She was so exhausted; she had been working for more than 24 hours, she had barely eaten and desperately wanted to sleep. She closed her eyes for a minute then re-opened them when she heard Tedd's voice.

Tedd Conrad was one of the few friends she had in this place; he smiled and sat next to her, she immediately asked: "Do you have any idea about what's going on?", he shook his head: "I heard rumors, I don't know exactly what's wrong but I know one thing; whatever happened is related to CTU".

Michelle nodded as she eyed Chappelle who just entered the room, he looked surprised, he stood there for a while then he started: "I am sure all of you are aware of today's events so I'll just get to the point. I received a call from CTU, they discovered another mole", he stopped for a second to let his words sink in then continued: "Jack Bauer discovered that Nina Myers – his second in command – is working with the Drazens"

Everyone stared at him with wide eyes, trying to get to grips with what he had said then Michelle said: "I am sorry, I am not following, we have been told to dedicate all of our resources to help CTU, to transfer any wanted data without questions and Nina Myers was the one who contacted us, I spoke with her personally for crying out loud and now you are telling us that the same exact person is a mole, that ….. That doesn't make any sense, she helped to stop the assassination, there must be a mistake".

Chappelle sighed: "I know, I couldn't believe it either but CTU sent a tape in which she was killing Jamey Farrell, plus she lied to Bauer so we are sure, I know that's a shock to all of you but you didn't even know her, imagine how the people who worked with her – including me – feel, right now we need to find out how bad the information leak is so agents Green and Turner will choose those who worked less hours to help".At that point,he turned and left them in silence and disbelief.

As soon as Chappelle had left,Michelle started collecting her things then she felt someone standing behind her.she turned to find Carrie who asked:" what are you doing?"

" Getting ready to leave" Michelle replied simply

" Leave,you aren't leaving , you are part of the team that will check CTU systems"

" what? you can't be serious,Mr.Chappelle said those who worked less hours.I have been here sinse..."

" I DO NOT CARE, you are part of the team and that's it. If you don't like it, resign"

Carrie left immediately after that leaving Michelle trying to control her anger and not to strangle her on the spot.Suddenly, she stopped thinking about Carrie and firmly ordered herself:" Get a grip Dessler, that's your job and you accepted to do it. CTU is a mess rightnow and you are whinning about wanting to go home, start your work now"

These thoughts encouraged her and helped her to calm her nerves so she sat down and started her work.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews; you guys are great. Sorry it took me so long to update. Here is the second chapter, enjoy._

**Chapter 2**: She's dead

Tony walked slowly along the hall way of CTU. He was deeply in thoughts when he reached the room where Kim was staying. He took a deep breath and pushed the door looking at the 17 years old girl.

It was the first time he saw her, she was a perfect mixture of her parents; she had Teri's complexion, eyes and smile and Jack's hair and nose.

Kim looked at him puzzled so he forced himself to smile: "Hi Kim, my name is Tony Almeida; I work for your father"

She nodded slowly and replied obviously embarrassed:"yes, um, we talked on the phone, sorry about that"

He shook his head brushing her apology aside then she suddenly asked: "what's wrong with you?"

He was surprised, he wasn't sure he heard right, that girl doesn't even know him, she met him about 5 minutes ago but she figured out something was wrong.

He noticed that her colour turned crimson as she started: "I'm sorry. I don't mean to interfere .I just….."

He cut her off: "No, no, it's okay it's just…. I had no idea that it is that obvious"

She nodded quietly: "I'm sorry if I crossed the line but I figured you're a friend of my parents, I mean you sounded concerned on the phone but of course I was such an idiot that I couldn't notice and gave you all a hard time"

"Actually you were right, CTU wasn't a secure place, we discovered another mole, the second in command, imagine that, we're supposed to protect the country although we can't even notice that we're working with traitors", he said bitterly

"The second in command! Oh my God, you mean Nina Myers?", she stopped for a while trying to process the information.

Tony could tell that she was confused. He knew she wanted her parents badly. He smiled at her: "you don't have to worry about anything. I'll go to find your parents now and every thing will be okay"

Tony returned to the bullpen and asked Mason and Milo about Jack, Mason opened his mouth to answer but he stopped as a look of horror appeared on his face so Tony turned to the direction he was looking at and stopped dead.

In front of him, Jack was standing with Teri's lifeless body in his arms. Tony knew instantly that Teri was dead. He moved slowly towards Jack and tried to take Teri but Jack refused to let go. Tony tried to soothe Jack: "come on Jack, let her go, there is nothing you can do for her anymore"

He didn't sound convincing even to himself, his heart was bleeding, Nina told him a while ago that Teri was pregnant and as he tried to convince Jack to leave his wife, he was struggling to keep his own emotions in check.

Finally, Jack loosened his grip on Teri and allowed Tony to take her. Tony turned him around to spare him the pain of watching a sheet being placed on his wife's face.

Suddenly, Tony heard a scream, he turned to find Kim who stared at the scene before her and fell to the ground sobbing. Jack reached out to her but she pulled back shaking.

The pain on Jack's face couldn't be described by words; Tony felt his heart shatter for him. He watched helplessly as Mason was forced to sedate Kim who became hysterical then he took Jack and headed to the medical section of CTU.

Michelle was working hard with her concentration focused on the computer's screen when she heard a loud noise, it was so loud that the entire staff left their work and turned to its direction, Ryan Chappelle's office where he, Brad Hammond and Alberta Green were talking, Chappelle exchanged few words with them then opened the door

"May I have your attention please", he yelled as if they weren't looking at him already: "George Mason from CTU called and informed us that Teri Bauer is dead"

Michelle couldn't control her gasp as millions of questions raced through her mind, how, when, why. Chappelle answered her questions: "Jack discovered her body in the basement of CTU, Nina shot her when she got in her way. Your work load is doubled now; most people at CTU won't help so get back to your work"

Michelle couldn't believe the man, he was acting normally as if he didn't know Jack, she didn't know him but she found the idea of a man losing his wife after every thing he had done unbearable, she felt as if she had been hit by something heavy on the head.

As usual, Carrie came in the worst time ever to drop more work on Michelle's head; Michelle just stared at her with a blank expression; she was too tired to argue and out of no where she found herself praying for Jack and Kim, she was praying for strangers but somehow it offered her some comfort to know that they had her prayers and she was sure that by tomorrow noon, they would have the prayers of the entire country.

_Okay, that sounded much better in my head but I have exams and I don't have the strength to modify it._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**: Without regret

Tony pushed his apartment's door open and entered. He didn't even know how he managed to get there; the last thing he remembered was Jack crying by Kim's bed in medical.

Tony dropped his keys, badge and gun on the table. He remembered the last time he used his gun; he shot the assassin that was trying to kill Teri. He saved her only to let her die in the exact same place he thought she would be safe in. He brought her to CTU; he was the one who asked Nina to look after her.

His body started to shake when he recalled the events of the last 24 hectic hours. He was angry and frustrated. He wanted to be - actually he needed to be – with somebody who loved and cared about him, he let his body fall on the couch as he picked the phone and dialed his parents.

The phone rang for a long time then his mother answered. He tried to talk but he felt a lump rise in his throat, as his mother was about to hang up, he whispered: "mom".

It took Margrette Almeida a long time to recognize her son's voice and when she did, she got scared; it was 2 a.m and Tony's voice was barely audible.

She pushed her fears away: "Tony, is something wrong?", her husband John turned to her when he heard his son's name, he looked at her questionly as she waited for the response nervously.

Tony tried to answer his mother; he didn't want to scare her but he was overwhelmed with emotions, suddenly every thing came back to him and out of no where, he started crying.

He could hear the panic in his mother's voice as she asked: "Tony, what's wrong? Just tell me……..ok, doesn't matter, where are you?", he hardly answered: "my place", she quickly answered: "ok, sweetie, just hang in there, I'm on my way"

Tony nodded and hanged up. All he had to do now is to wait, his parents were coming so he just buried his face in the couch and tried to collect himself.

10 minutes later, he heard the front door being opened and a lot of voices; he recognized his parents' and some of his siblings' then someone switched on the light and his mother gasped as the others froze.

Tony was thrown on the couch, curled up, shaking and crying. Nobody had seen him like this before; he had always been the tough one, the one who controlled his emotions no matter what, even after Dean's death, he composed himself some how; he fell apart but never cried.

Margrette sat on the couch and pulled her son to her lap. Tony buried his face in her chest and cried even harder. She said nothing; she just ran her hand up and down his back while stroking his hair with the other one.

Tony calmed down after a while, he raised his head and looked at his mother who wiped away his tears and kissed his forehead. He rested his head on her shoulder refusing to leave the warm embrace; he was so vulnerable and he felt safe around his mother.

John sat next to him and gently asked: "Do you want to talk?", Tony replied with difficulty: "I discovered I was the dumbest person on Earth, I gave my heart to the wrong person, I should've known better, I practically offered her Teri on a golden plate".

John was puzzled, he knew that the problem was Nina, John never liked Nina; he thought she was using Tony to satisfy her own needs. What he couldn't understand was what Teri had to do with Nina and what Tony meant by "offered her Teri on a golden plate".

He put his hand on Tony's shoulder encouraging him to continue, Tony took a deep breath as new tears formed in his eyes: "Nina", his voice broke and he started sobbing again but he continued: "she was dating me for information. She was a mole; we discovered she was working with the terrorists who tried to kill Senator Palmer, she killed Jamey and Teri, just like that, without regret"

Margrette tightened her grip on Tony as her own tears started to fall. She was helpless; she didn't know how to comfort Tony. She looked at John hoping he'll know what to do.

John stood up and forced Tony to his feet: "Get some sleep, you have worked a lot tonight, don't think about what happened now"

He helped Tony to change then sat next to him until he was sure he was asleep.

_I received two reviews only on the last chapter, I don't know if you guys didn't like it or you just didn't review. If you read that chapter, just let me know that you're still reading._


	4. Chapter 4

_Ok, u guys are the best, u really made my day by your reviews, please don't stop, hope u like that chapter_

**Chapter 4:** Are you ok?

Tony opened his eyes with difficulty; he had a bad headache and his entire body was aching. He stared at the clock on his night stand and groaned; it was 4 p.m; he had slept for almost 13 hours.

He had no desire to get up but he forced himself to. He headed to his living room and he felt his body relax, his entire family was there and he felt better having them around.

He sat on the counter and his mother - without a word – handed him a cup of coffee which he accepted gratefully. He felt hands sneak around his shoulders and he turned to give his sister Anna a weak smile which she returned by a bright one.

Anna was his twin and his closest sister. She understood him perfectly well so she just stood behind him drawing circles on his shoulders. She didn't know how to express her feelings with words so she tried to convey with her touches how she felt.

Time passed as no body said a word then the silence was interrupted when the bell rang. Tony didn't move a muscle so his youngest sister went to answer it.

Amy came back seconds later followed by George Mason. There was a prolonged silence after the introductions until Mason broke it: "Her trial will be in 2 weeks".

Tony raised his head in confusion: "Trial? What trial! For God's sake George, she is a traitor. We have the evidence that condemn her and still they're prosecuting her. She doesn't deserve that, the only thing she deserves is to be locked in a maximum security prison for the rest of her pathetic life, no actually she deserves to be executed".

George noticed how harsh Tony's words sounded, it was like they weren't involved but he knew that's the reason for Tony's cruel words so he just replied: "she has rights Tony".

Tony jumped to his feet and started pacing the room at that comment; he was so angry and frustrated. George got worried; Tony looked as if he wanted to kill somebody so he asked: "Are you ok?".

Suddenly, Tony couldn't control himself anymore, he practically screamed: "ok? Don't you think you are asking the wrong man George? I'm alive, aren't I? And so are all my beloved ones. The one you should be asking lives across the town. Go and tell him that the bitch that killed his wife and unborn child has rights and don't worry about me, I'm terrific.

With that, he smashed a mirror with his fist. Every body jumped in horror when the broken glass injured him. His hand was bleeding badly but he just watched the blood as if it wasn't his.

Mason was terrified; he had never seen Tony like that. He watched the blood gushing from Tony's hand and said: "he needs to see a doctor", Margrette pushed him aside and wrapped a towel around Tony's hand while replying: "I'm a doctor".

Mason kept glancing at Tony as his mother fixed his hand but Tony avoided his gaze. When his mother finished, he looked up and said: "I'm sorry George; I didn't mean to snap at you, I know that's the law and there is nothing you can do. I just….I feel so helpless and betrayed, I can't believe what happened, I don't understand why she sold us all out, she had a great life and she threw it away, just like that and for what? What possible reason could justify her actions? I feel so lost"

Mason sighed heavily: "I don't understand it too. I wish I have some answers but I don't. look Tony, um, I can't claim to understand how you feel, I am sure you feel 100 times worse than I do but the only thing we can do right now is to move on, I know it's easier to be said than to be done but we have to try".

He was about to leave when Tony stopped him: "George, what is going on with Jack? Please don't tell me that Chappelle and Hammond are acting like their usual selves and are going to press charges"

Mason shook his head slowly: "They won't, all Jack's actions had been tolerated – thanks to your testimony actually – so it'll pass, plus after what happened, no one will dare to even try and incriminate him but I don't know if he'll run CTU again"

He eyed Tony as he lowered his head to the ground: "stop thinking about what happened Tony and don't try to analyze it because it won't make any sense. Listen, Teri's funeral is tomorrow at 11 a.m so I'll see you there. It was a pleasure to meet all of you, I wish if it happened in better circumstances"

He nodded briefly at Tony then left as Tony shut his eyes in agony.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:** Ready?

Tony locked himself in his room as soon as Mason had left and refused to talk to anybody. He knew his family was worried sick about him but he couldn't force himself to talk. He knew he needed their help to pull himself together and he wanted it but he didn't want them to suffer. In his opinion, they had suffered enough already. He put them through hell once and had no intention to do it again.

He hurt them badly after Dean's death. He was hurting badly and didn't care at all about how they felt seeing him in that situation. He felt a cold shiver go through his body when he remembered Dean. He promised himself after what happened with Dean that he would never lose anybody again. He broke his promise; he lost Teri. He brought her to her death just like he brought Dean to his.

Bob dropped onto a chair in Tony's living room, He was frustrated. He had met Jamey before and he knew how much his brother cared about her. Jamey's betrayal stinged but her death left Tony unstable; she was his friend after all. All that with Teri's death and Nina's betrayal knocked Tony over. It was too much to handle, even to somebody as strong as Tony.

Bob tried to figure out a way to make Tony open up to them; he knew it'll help but he failed. They had literally pulled all the stops. He sighed heavily as he stared at the bedroom's door .He knew his brother so damn well; he won't come out until next morning.

The day passed quickly – much to Tony's dismay – and before he knew it, it was 8 a.m and he had to get up. He wanted to go to the funeral house early to be with Jack. God, he hated that, he didn't even know if he could do it. After what happened, he simply lost confidence in himself. He got dressed and left to meet Bob who was waiting for him. Bob knew Jack; they met when CTU and the Navy were working on a case together.

30 minutes later, they arrived at the funeral house. Tony felt Bob's hand squeeze his and heard him say: "Ready?". Tony nodded silently and they headed inside. Tony saw Mason, Chappelle and Hammond but didn't bother to greet them. His only goal was to find Jack; He spotted him sitting with his head in his hands.

He approached him and shook his shoulder gently. Jack stood up slowly and Tony felt his mouth go dry. The pain in Jack's eyes was deeper than the last time Tony had seen him. It was tormenting to look in Jack's eyes. The strong confident man Tony knew was replaced by a destroyed one.

Tony looked at him sympathetically and nearly whispered: "how are you holding up?", Jack looked away: "I still can't believe what happened". Tony understood him perfectly, his shock was nothing compared to Jack's and he was still struggling to get to grips with what happened.

Jack tried to say something but stopped as his tears threatened to fall. He looked out of time and place. He suddenly said: "I'm going for a walk, would you like to come with me?". Tony nodded absently and followed him outside.

Michelle entered Division slowly. She sat down and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She had a long day ahead from her; she – along with everybody else at Division – was working hard to check CTU systems so that it can start functioning with 100 capacity. They spent the day before doing the same thing but they had some help from the people at CTU.

It was so much worse today; most of the CTU crew along with the Division's top agents would be at Teri Bauer's funeral. Not just that but every body was depressed and tired. The work load was too heavy.

Michelle felt life draining away from her the second she entered. She turned her computer on and started her work with a sigh. She had one of the heaviest work loads – thanks to Carrie of course – and she wanted to finish early to visit Danny.

A while later, Elle Woods stopped by her desk. Michelle didn't like Elle. She was Division's gossip queen; she loved to interfere in people's lives and talk about their most private moments.

Michelle looked at Elle with a raised brow. Elle sat next to her and started doing her favorite hobby: "I heard some strange news. Nina Myers was dating one of her co- workers"

Michelle shook her head in disbelief: "No way, Hammond and Chappelle would have had his head by now, they would have squeezed him to death and we would have known"

Elle smiled: "trust me; I know what I'm talking about. I've a friend in CTU; she told me that he was one of the key players in the day. He's the third in command and CTU can't afford to lose another agent specially this one. The guy has a big amount of dignity and self-esteem. He stood against his superiors enormous times and he was right in most of them. If Hammond and Chappelle even dared to treat him like a criminal, he would resign on the spot. My friend doesn't believe he knew about Nina, nobody in CTU does"

Michelle got tired of the conversation. She had work to do and didn't like to talk about something like that. She felt she was invading the guy's privacy. Elle had no right to talk about him like that. She didn't even know the guy. Fortunately, Tedd approached her so Elle excused herself and left.

Michelle smiled at Tedd: "you're a life saver. I hate when she do that", he returned her smile: "what was it this time? Why did Alberta fight with Carrie? Or where did Chappelle spend his last weekend?"

Michelle sighed: 'you wish. She was telling me some crap about Nina Myers, she claims that Nina was dating her third in command", Tedd's smile vanished: "She's right, that's what George Mason was talking with Chappelle about yesterday"

Michelle put her hand on her head: "Are you telling me that maybe we're talking about 3 moles instead of 2?", Tedd shrugged; "I don't know but Mason doesn't think so. He was defending the guy, that's why he was arguing with Chappelle.I don't think so too. It's so obvious but who knows?"

Michelle nodded then she saw Carrie so she said: "we better get back to work. I'm not giving her the chance to yell at me. I'm not in the mood to fight", Tedd smiled showing his understanding then left.

_I know that Michelle's storyline sucks and the dialogue is too much but my muse decided to go on vacation and refuses to come back. I can't blame her, it's too hot here._


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry it took me so long to update. Here's the new chapter, enjoy._

**Chapter 6:** I'm sure you understand

Tony and Jack walked in total silence, neither wanted to say a word. Tony contemplated saying some thing several times but decided against it. He wanted to comfort Jack but didn't find the words.

Jack stopped walking and turned to Tony who waited for him to speak but Jack just stared at him: "Jack, spit it out", Jack fished a paper out of his pocket and handed it to Tony. Tony unfolded the paper then closed his eyes in despair when he realized what it was. He expected Jack to do that but it still hurt.

Tony looked at Jack with a sad expression but Jack avoided his eyes: "could you send me my things? I don't want to set a foot in this place again", Tony didn't try to talk him out of it, his world crashed around him because of this job. Tony knew were he in Jack's shoes, he would have done the exact same thing.

Jack gently whispered: "we have to go back", Tony took a deep breath trying to calm down. His heart was pounding violently in his chest. He was losing control again but he was determined not to.

When they returned, Tony saw Kim standing with a middle aged woman with long black hair. Jack followed his gaze: "Teri's sister Carol". Tony could tell something was wrong between Jack and Kim but it wasn't the time to ask.

Bob and Milo joined them minutes later and the three of them surrounded Jack when the funeral began. Kim started sobbing and Jack clenched his fist so hard that it started bleeding.

Tony felt helpless for the millionth time. He was looking back and forth between Jack and Kim unable to do anything. When the coffin was being lowered in the ground, Kim gasped and held to her aunt while Jack's tears fell in silence. Tony just repeated what he did at CTU; he turned Jack around to spare him the pain.

Tony left Jack with Bob and Milo when the funeral ended and went to Kim to offer his condolences .She was standing with her aunt: "Kim", she turned around and he felt his hatred towards Nina reach new levels. Kim was just a child and Nina ripped her innocence apart. He embraced her: "I'm so sorry, If there is anything I can do for you, just let me know" she nodded so he gave her hand a gentle squeeze then turned to return to Jack but Chappelle stopped him: "Almeida, we need to talk"

Tony scratched his face with irritation: "can it wait? I have to go back to Jack", Chappelle didn't seem to care: "No, both me and Mr. Hammond need to talk to you now"

Tony followed him to Brad and Mason joined them. Tony narrowed his eyes in confusion, he didn't know what they wanted but the look on Mason's face told him it wasn't good.

Tony opened his mouth to speak but Hammond was faster: "you are suspended", Tony's head snapped back and he asked in disbelief: "I'm what?"

"Suspended. Your girlfriend is a mole and we have to make sure you weren't helping her" Hammond stated coldly.

Tony stared at him wide eyed. He should have expected that but he hasn't. He knew they had nothing against him but that didn't make it any easier. The fact that his name would be related to Nina's hit him like a ton of bricks.

Mason noticed the change in his face; "Tony, we have no reason to think you are a mole", Hammond cut him off: "and we have no reason to think he isn't"

Mason threw him a look full of hatred: "As I was saying, we don't think you knew about Nina but we have no choice. I'm sure you understand"

Tony was too tired to argue about anything. There wasn't actually anything he could argue about, he knew they were right so he just handed the paper Jack gave him to Mason.

Mason raised his brow questionally: "it's Jack's resignation. He wanted me to send him his belongings". The three men exchanged glances then Chappelle replied: "we'll investigate with you tomorrow at CTU. You can pick it up then". Tony stared at him blankly then left without a word.

Jack took one look at Tony's face when he returned and muttered: "typical". Tony just shrugged, he was beyond the point of caring. He kept receiving a shock after another and felt worn out. He just wanted to be left in peace.

Kim passed by them but didn't stop and Jack looked hurt. Tony knew it was now or never: "what's going on with Kim?" Jack bit his lip: "she refused to talk to me. I guess I deserve that, I let her mother die after all"

"WHAT?" Tony exclaimed: "you didn't let Teri die. It's not your fault. Just give her some time. She'll come around". Jack ran his hand through his hair. He lost his wife and didn't want to lose his daughter too. He needed her: "I hope so Tony. I hope so"

* * *

Michelle was making remarkable progress; she had finished most of her work already. She leaned back in her chair trying to ease her headache. Her phone rand moments later and she answered in frustration then her face broke into a smile when she heard her brother's voice: "hey samy. How are you?"

"I don't know how to tell you this Michelle…….Danny tried to commit suicide" Sam's voice sounded scared and Michelle's heart fell down. She barely said: "where is he?" Sam answered: "Cedars"

Michelle motioned to Tedd to come: "ok, I'm on my way". She stood up and started searching for her keys as Tedd asked: "what's wrong?" She said her voice heavy with emotion: "I have to get out of here"

She didn't notice Carrie who stood with her hands on her hips: "and why is that?" Michelle sighed in anger. Carrie was the last person she wanted to talk to now: "I don't have time for that"

"I don't care. You are staying here, you have work to do" Carrie reminded her and Michelle wanted to kill her: "my brother is in the hospital"

Carrie looked taken back for a second then replied: "well, I'm sorry but you can't leave. We can't afford to lose an employee". Tedd stared at her in disgust: "I'll cover for her and do whatever she was supposed to do" Michelle threw him a grateful look and rushed to her car without giving Carrie the chance to speak.

The drive to the hospital was a blur to Michelle. She kept drying her eyes and trying to concentrate on the road. She was recalling what happened in the last few months and before she knew it, she arrived at the hospital.

Michelle rushed to the waiting area where she found her parents, her brother Sam and her sister Catherine. Michelle's eyes asked many questions and her father answered them: "He's still in the O.R.Sam went to check up on him and found him bleeding from a split wrist"

Michelle gasped and her eyes welled up with tears. Sam put his arms around her: "it's ok. The doctors said we found him in time"

Michelle nodded and let her body fall on a chair. All that was her fault, she shouldn't have introduced Danny to Carrie. Her brother's life was a mess because of her and now he was fighting for his life. She remembered Carrie's reaction when she knew about Danny, she didn't care at all.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a doctor. Michelle sighed in relief when he assured them Danny was going to be ok. She closed her eyes in agony when she entered his room, his face was pale and he was connected to several machines.

Michelle kissed his forehead and made herself a promise; she decided to do every thing in her power to help Danny. She wasn't going to let Carrie poison her brother's life anymore and who knows, maybe she could convince Lisa to forgive Danny and return to him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:** It's the rules

Tony entered his apartment with Bob on his heels. He looked around his living room then headed to his room without a word which worried his family more. Bob and Anna followed him and closed the door behind them. They stared at Tony for a while, it was obvious he wasn't going to say anything so Anna said: "Don't do that to yourself, tell us what's in your head"

Tony shook his head slowly. Why couldn't she understand? There was nothing they could do. He didn't want to talk, he just wanted to forget what happened and talking would just remind him of what he considered his own failure. Bob noticed Tony's appearance and put his hand on Tony's arm: "say some thing Tony. Please talk to us"

Tony closed his eyes for a while: "and say what? I didn't notice that my girlfriend is a mole and I allowed her to kill Teri. What more can I say?" Anna stared at him shocked; she just couldn't believe her ears: "What the hell are you talking about? You can't possibly think that is your fault"

Tony sat on the bed rubbing his eyes and softly whispered: "but it is", tears welled up in his eyes but he blinked them away: "I was the one who brought Teri to CTU.I thought it would be better if Nina talked to her. When she wanted to know what was going on with Jack and Kim, I refused to tell her so she went to Nina. Why didn't I tell her? We were talking about her husband and daughter, she deserved to know"

Bob bit his lip, he knew that Tony was doubting his decisions and he hated to see his brother in that condition. Bob had always looked up to Tony although Tony was elder than him by only 2 years. Tony was all over the place. Bob hoped that his words would help him: "you did what you had to do, she was a civilian Tony. You couldn't tell her even if you wanted to. It's the rules"

Tony threw him a strange look and left the room. Anna and Bob followed him to the living room where the others were sitting. Bob sensed that Tony was holding some thing from them: "you didn't tell us everything, did you?"

Tony focused on his father: "I broke those rules for Nina. Teri and Kim were kidnapped and she was helping Jack to find them. She asked for my help and I helped her and broke the rules. Why couldn't I do the same with Teri?"

John understood what he meant immediately. He was an ex-marine himself and knew how much it hurt to know that you could have saved some body if you acted differently. He moved over to stand in front of Tony and looked in his eyes. There was so much guilt and pain in Tony's eyes and John's heart ached for his elder kid: "if Nina hadn't been involved, if Jack had called you and asked for your help, would you have helped him?"

Tony nodded wearily and lowered his head. John put his hands on either sides of his face: "Tony, look at me". He waited until Tony's eyes met his: "you did your best and there was no way for you to stop what happened.Those things just happen, no matter what you do to stop them"

Tony understood his father's logic. He was doing what he thought was right at the time. He still felt guilty but it wasn't as before. Shawn's words brought him back to Earth: "maybe you should take a couple of days off, it'll help"

Tony smiled bitterly at his younger brother: "I don't need to, I'm suspended". Everybody stared at him shocked except for Christine. Tony caught her eyes: "I think you are the only one who saw that coming"

She shrugged: "I didn't expect you to notice. It won't affect you much though. Once they finish the investigation, it'll be over". Tony scratched the side of his face: "over? My name will be attached to hers for a long time. My reputation is ruined and that's it. Maybe……maybe I should resign"

His family exchanged glances then his mother said firmly: "you can't keep doing this, every time things get a little complicated, you escape but guess what? That won't solve anything". Tony stared at his mother with a pained expression, her words hurt so much: "I don't think I can go back and…….".his voice trailed off and his bottom lip started to quiver.

Margrette's heart melted for him. She knew she was harsh on him but she couldn't stand to see him destroying his life and leaving a job he loved: "you did nothing wrong. You helped to save Senator Palmer's life. You should be proud of your self sweetie, you are a hero"

Tony cocked his head to the side; he didn't seem to be convinced so Christine asked: "did they set a date to question you?" Tony flinched at the word "question", it brought waves of memories back, he remembered when Alberta suspended him and Nina and questioned them. The word just made him feel like a criminal. He pushed his feelings aside and answered: "yeah, tomorrow"

Christine leaned forward and held his hand: "here is what you are going to do. You will go and face them all, you will tell them what they want to know and I guarantee you, they'll call in a couple of days and ask you to come back and you will because if you didn't, that would mean that Nina won"

Tony thought about what she said for a moment. She was 100 right, Nina wanted to destroy them and he would never give her that satisfaction. That was his revenge; he would go back and do his job like he used to. He would help to catch people like her and save people like Teri.

He looked at his family with gratitude; they believed in him and in his abilities and he wasn't going to let them down. He felt a wave of strength wash over him. For some reason, he was sure that he would find his way through this crisis like he did before.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:** Here he is

It had been 4 days since Tony's interrogation, a week since that dreadful day and Tony was still struggling to get to grips with what happened. His family never left him, they made sure that at least one of them would stop by and keep him company. They knew if they left him, he would drive himself nuts thinking "what if".

Tony received a call from George Mason the day before; Mason asked him to come back and even promoted him. He was going to be the assistant special agent in charge and the only one who would outrank him would be Mason who would take over Jack's old position.

Tony couldn't help but notice the irony of the situation. He was going to be the director's right arm and most trusted man. That position was a huge career step and if the circumstances had been different, he would have been thrilled but now, he couldn't care less about it.

Now, the day that Tony feared had arrived. He was going back to CTU. He had to work with the same people who witnessed his humiliation. He hadn't seen most of them since that day. He had been so relived when Chappelle called to inform him that the interrogation would be in Division instead of CTU, he wasn't ready to face his co-workers.

Tony managed to stay calm on his way to CTU. It wasn't until he had pulled into the garage that he lost his nerves. He remembered what Hammond said during his interrogation: "You were with Nina that morning. You were sleeping with a traitor. What does that make you?"

Tony didn't tell anybody about that but it really bothered him. He knew that Hammond was pushing him to make sure he wasn't helping Nina but he also knew that most of his co-workers would think the same way and he hated it, he hated that Nina managed to screw up his life even after her arrest.

Tony sighed trying to control his emotions. He kept reminding himself that some people didn't think badly of him, people like Milo and Mason. His co-workers knew and trusted him but they knew and trusted Nina as well. Maybe what happened changed their measures. Maybe they didn't trust him anymore.

Tony exhaled sharply: "stop tormenting yourself. Go ahead and get this whole thing over with". He got out of his car and made his way to the bullpen then paused for a second: "here we go" He thought as he entered the bullpen.

* * *

Michelle was very nervous, that was her first day at Counter Terrorist Unit and she was determined to leave a good impression. She applied for that job when things got so ugly with Carrie that she couldn't take it anymore. She loathed the woman and felt anger rise inside her every time she saw her. It was impossible for her to work with the woman that almost cost Danny his life. 

Michelle got the job after a brief interview with Ryan Chappelle. She was more than qualified for the job and it wasn't like there were a lot of candidates anyway. Nobody wanted to work at CTU at the moment. The work load was unbearable and the atmosphere itself was full of tension. It was known that Hammond and Chappelle would keep close tapes on the new people for a while and everybody at CTU would compare them to their ancestors.

All those things didn't matter to Michelle. She was used to the work load and she spent the last couple of months working with the woman that destroyed her brother's life. She was sure that the tension in CTU would be nothing compared to the tension between Carrie and her. Michelle was sure that she would prove herself to her superiors.

Michelle walked into the Headquarters of CTU L.A and looked around. The place was nothing like Division. She often thought of Division as cold and repulsive. People at Division were absorbed in their own worlds and barely even acknowledge each other. Her eyes wandered to her soon-to-be co-workers. They were working together and helping each other and she liked it. Despite her knowledge of the drama that had taken over this place only a week before, she had feeling that she was going to make a difference here.

Michelle was practically standing in the middle of the bullpen deep in thoughts that she didn't notice the man that approached her: "Michelle Dessler?" She turned around and looked at the man before her: "I'm George Mason, the director of CTU".

Michelle nodded briefly as she extended her hand to shake his: "well, I'm sure you know about what happened here and that we have a lot of work to do so let's save the whole "welcome to CTU" thing to another time and just cut to the chase"

Michelle raised her brow slightly amused. She had never met the man before but heard a lot about him and the way he worked: "very well Mr. Mason. What do you want me to do exactly?"

Mason suppressed a smile; he could tell he was going to like that girl. She was collected, professional and didn't seem to be phased by his little speech: "there are some files that Jamey Farrell was working on. I want you to check them and see if you can find anything useful"

Normally, Mason wouldn't give a task like that to a person he just met but the girl's file was impressive and they were understaffed. He started walking and motioned for her to follow him. He led her to a station: "you'll work from here and if you needed anything else, just ask Tony. He should be here any minute"

Michelle looked at him confused: "excuse me but who is Tony exactly?". Mason looked surprised: "didn't Ryan tell you about the chain of command?" she shook her head and he sighed in irritation: "Tony Almeida is the second in command and your direct superior". He looked at something behind her: "oh, here he is"

Michelle turned around and eyed the man. He was Hispanic with olive complexion, brown eyes and dark brown curly hair. She wondered whether they would get along well or not. She hoped they would because she couldn't handle dealing with another arrogant boss.

Tony calmed down when he entered the bullpen. All of his co-workers were happy to see him and welcomed him warmly. Nobody was staring at him with doubt or worse, sympathy. He could deal with the doubt but he had no idea how to deal with the sympathy.

Tony spotted Mason standing with a girl next to his old office. He didn't recognize the girl. She was pretty with brown eyes and light brown hair. She seemed to have an Asian heritage.

Tony reached them and acknowledged Mason with a nod: "welcome back. Tony, I want you to meet Michelle Dessler our new third in command. Michelle, that's Tony Almeida"

Michelle smiled at Tony and shook his hand. Tony had his business mask on so she couldn't read his face and that worried her as she couldn't tell what kind of man he was. First impressions were important to Michelle as they were usually right but Michelle didn't know what to think about Tony Almeida.

Mason's voice snapped her out of her thoughts: "Tony, there are some files on your desk that I need you to go through and Michelle, tell me if you found anything in those files, ok?" Tony and Michelle nodded so Mason turned and left.

Tony turned to Michelle: "my station is over there. If you needed anything, just give me a call" He was about to leave when Michelle stopped him: "um, Mr. Almeida"

Tony turned to face her: "please call me Tony" Michelle smiled: "ok, Mr. Mason asked me to check some files but he didn't give me my clearance"

Tony looked at her surprised: "your clearance? That's your first day?" Michelle nodded and Tony rolled his eyes: "George didn't waste anytime, did he? Ok, just give me a minute and I'll bring it to you?"

Michelle nodded as Tony climbed the stairs to Mason's office. He entered and Mason looked at him questionably: "you didn't give the new girl her clearance". Mason handed it to Tony: "listen Tony, I know things are a little weird right now but I need you to focus. We really need you help here"

Tony clenched his jaw: "don't worry George. I'm fine" with that he turned and headed to Michelle: "you have a level 4 clearance. Do you need anything else?"

Michelle shook her head: "No, I'm pretty much settled here". Tony nodded and went to his station and Michelle smiled to herself. For some reason, she felt that she would get along with Tony. He had been very nice to her so far and she hoped that he would stay that way.

Tony went to his station and took a look at the files that Mason asked him to go through. He recognized some of those files, they were Nina's and he flinched when he thought of her: "you're not going to think about Nina, you have work to do" He sighed trying to block thoughts about her and started his work.

_I contemplated finishing the chapter when Michelle first saw Tony but I figured that you guys are going to kill me if I continued to put off that scene. I hope it was worth your waiting. Becky, I hope you are satisfied._


	9. Chapter 9

_I'm facing a serious writer's block and I'm not really thrilled with that chapter. Feel free to tell me that it sucks. Anyway, an anonymous reviewer asked whether that story would be prim and proper or hot and steamy. Considering that the story is pre season 2 and Tony and Michelle haven't started dating yet, it would be prim and proper .however, its sequel (post season 2) would be hot and steamy._

**Chapter 9**: I barely know him

Michelle entered the break room slowly. Her head was pounding and her eyes were heavy. She hadn't taken a break since her arrival and was dying to have a cup of coffee. She sat down sipping her coffee then she heard some voices. She looked at the two women who entered the room. They stopped talking when they saw her then one of them smiled and extended her hand: "Hi, I'm Cassie Stewart and that's Elaine Holland"

Michelle smiled and shook their hands: "nice to meet you. I'm Michelle Dessler". Both of them sat down then Elaine asked: "whose job you took over?" Michelle shrugged: "I don't know. I'm the third in command". They exchanged glances: "you have Tony's job"

Michelle's eyes widened: "Tony? You mean Tony Almeida?" They nodded and everything Elle said came back to Michelle. So she was working for Nina's boyfriend. Michelle thought that was strange, Tony didn't seem the kind of guy that could be deceived easily.

Cassie noticed her silence: "Don't believe everything you hear. Tony is my friend and I know him. He is a patriot. He would never do anything to harm this country. His only mistake was to give his trust to the wrong person"

Michelle sighed heavily: "I barely know him and I don't really know what to think of him but I'm not going to condemn him just because he was dating Nina"

At that moment, Tony opened the door and walked in. Michelle felt her face grow hot the second she saw him but Tony didn't notice. He just gave Cassie a quick hug and greeted Elaine who asked: "why didn't you come to Jamey's funeral?"

Cassie threw her a warning look but it was too late. A look of pain spread on Tony's face and he glanced quickly at Michelle. She looked uncomfortable and he guessed that she knew: "I was at Division, Hammond and Chappelle wanted to talk to me"

Cassie put her hand on his shoulder: "it's great to have you back Tony" with that she left with Elaine leaving Tony and Michelle in an awkward silence.

Tony poured himself some coffee and sat down. He didn't want to talk about Nina. He wasn't one to talk with a complete stranger about his personal life but he knew he had to, they couldn't afford to have the second and third in command working in tension or not trusting each other: "so…I guess you already know about me and Nina"

Michelle avoided his gaze while nodding. She was embarrassed and didn't want to have this conversation: "Michelle, please look at me". She raised her eyes slowly to meet his and he held her gaze for a minute: "I don't know what you heard exactly but I want you to know one thing, I wasn't helping Nina. I didn't know she was a mole, not while we were just co-workers, or while we were dating"

Michelle shifted uncomfortably in her chair: "it's not my business and……".Tony cut her off: "you are the third in command and practically my right arm. I can't have you doubting me. We can't work that way"

Michelle bit her lip. He was being honest with her and she had to do the same with him: "I heard a lot of rumors but I don't know if they were true. I don't know you. The bottom line is you still work here and even got promoted which means our superiors trust you. That's all I need to know"

Tony eyed her carefully then stood up to leave but she stopped him: "Mr. Almeida". He turned to her with a raised brow and she chuckled softly when she saw his expression and understood it: "sorry….Tony. Off the record, I'm not one to get affected by rumors. I form my opinion based on the person in front of me"

Tony could tell she was sincere and that warmed his heart. He opened the door then paused: "um, Michelle". She looked at him curiously: "thank you"

Tony returned to his station feeling slightly better, his conversation with Michelle put him at ease. Any doubt he had about his co-workers was long gone. He finished his coffee and returned to his work.

Minutes later, something caught his attention. He sat straight in his chair as he double checked what he found then he shouted: "Milo, did you guys check those systems?"

Several heads turned to him as Milo nodded. Mason heard Tony's shout and headed to him as he said: "then how come I just found another information leak?"

"What?" Tony turned to Michelle who walked over to him: "that can't be. I was among the team that checked those systems". She leaned over Tony's computer and her eyes widened. Somebody downloaded some information little over 2 hours ago and it seemed that he had been doing that for the last week. Tony sat down and started typing: "Damn it George. These are Nina's systems. You should have been more careful"

Mason felt anger rise inside him. Those systems were checked by Division and they confirmed they were clean. Now, he had an information leak and Chappelle would breathe down his neck: "Milo, call Division and find out who the hell is responsible for that mistake"

"Call them yourself George". Tony said as he turned and fixed Mason with his eyes as if to tell him that he understood what he was trying to do: "I need Milo here"

Mason clenched his jaw and stormed off to his office but Tony didn't care. It was Mason's job to inform Division but he wanted to avoid talking to Chappelle or worse, Hammond. Tony couldn't blame him though; He hated to talk to both men as well. Tony gave Michelle and Milo some instructions and they managed to secure the systems but failed to find out who stole the information.

It was the end of his shift so Tony headed to Mason's office to tell him he was leaving. Mason was discussing something with Michelle so Tony waited until they finished: "I'm heading home. Do you need anything?"

Mason shook his head and looked at Michelle: "you should go too. You did great today Michelle. I'm impressed". Michelle smiled and blushed and Mason turned to Tony: "you too Tony. Great job. I can't believe we allowed somebody to hack into our systems again"

Tony shrugged: "Nina had been leaking information since God only knows when. Anyway, did they find out whose fault it was?" Mason nodded: "an agent called Carrie something. I wasn't really listening to Ryan"

Michelle raised her head when she heard that. There was only one Carrie in the team and that was Carrie turner. She tried to act normally but Tony noticed her reaction. He guessed she knew the woman but didn't ask. He just nodded at Mason and left.

* * *

Tony entered his apartment and sat down rubbing his eyes. He was about to change when the bell rang. He opened the door to reveal his twin sisters Jane and Justine: "so you two got picked up to baby sit me today?" 

Justine laughed and hugged him: "we _are_ going to baby sit but I'm not sure we are going to baby sit _you_". Tony didn't understand so Justine dragged him out of the apartment. Tony's eyes lit up when he saw who was standing in the hallway. He smiled at Anna's son Tony, Jane's daughter Sky and Rick's daughters Sandy and Tia.

Sky launched herself towards him followed closely by little Tony. Tony kissed the kids then turned to his sisters: "I thought Rick had 3 children. Did he got sick of the baby and strangled him?"

Jane slapped his arms playfully: "little John is downstairs with Joey. They will be here in a minute". Tony smiled and entered the apartment with Jane and Justine. The kids had already made themselves comfortable and raided the fridge but little Tony was no where to be found. Jane asked: "girls, where is your cousin?"

Tony put his hand on her arm: "probably in my bedroom. He always goes there and tries to find my gun". Justine panicked at his words: "oh my God. Where is your gun?"

Tony removed his jacket to show her the gun then went to his bedroom to find little Tony. He laughed when he found his nephew in the closet literally: "I don't keep my gun in the closet pal"

He laughed even harder when the 5 years old boy stuck his head out through his suits and pouted. Tony picked him up and carried him to the living room. Joey was there with baby John. Tony greeted his brother then sat down with little Tony seated on his lap and started tickling him.

The little boy started laughing and could hardly breathe: "stop Uncle Tony, please stop". Tony stopped and kissed his forehead before releasing him and he ran immediately to play with his cousins.

Tony leaned back in his chair and looked at Joey who was smiling at him: "why are you staring at me like that?" Justine wrapped his arms around his neck from behind and kissed his cheek: "you are in a good mood"

Tony sighed and placed his hand over hers: "what's done is done and I can't do anything to change it. I can't say I'm totally over what happened but I'm really trying. Enough with that subject, hand me the baby"

Jane gave him the baby and the three of them stood there watching Tony as he held his youngest nephew and made baby talk to him.

* * *

Michelle smiled when she entered her apartment. She was in a very good mood; her first day at CTU went as easy as possible. She checked her messages and found a message from Tedd so she called him. He didn't give her a chance to say anything: "how was your first day?" 

She laughed at him: "great actually which reminds me. Do you remember our conversation about the agent that was dating Nina Myers? Turned out he's my direct boss"

Tedd stayed silent for a minute then spoke slowly: "are you telling me that he's the chief of staff? How is that possible?" Michelle shrugged: "I don't know all the details. He said something about Chappelle and Hammond. I think they questioned him then allowed him to go back to work. He's very smart; he discovered an information leak today. It was hard to even notice there was something wrong with the system"

Michelle pressed the phone between her ear and shoulder as she put a frozen pizza in the oven. She heard Tedd say: "you mean the one caused by Carrie?"

Michelle sat down and sighed: "yeah, I was about to ask you about that. What happened exactly? Carrie is a bitch but she is good at what she does"

Tedd let out a short laugh at what she said then turned serious again: "she screwed up. She didn't concentrate on her work and nearly caused a disaster. Chappelle demoted her"

Michelle tried to process the information. Carrie was demoted. She didn't know how to feel about that. She wasn't one to be happy because someone got hurt even if she hated that person. On the other hand, Carrie made her life a living hell and destroyed her brother's life and she didn't do her job properly. Tedd's voice snapped her out of her thoughts: "Michelle, I need to go. Talk to you later"

Michelle sat down and started eating. She didn't think about Carrie much. She refused to think about that woman. She found herself thinking about Tony. She still didn't know what to think of him but she liked what she knew about him so far. He was honest, straight and smart.

To Michelle Dessler, Tony Almeida was a man she couldn't wait to know better.


	10. Chapter 10

_Sorry it took my so long to update. I was waiting for my writer's block to be over. I re-wrote that chapter four times and every time I hate it more. However, I think that chapter was the best of them. I hope you like it._

**Chapter 10**: Good luck

Michelle made her way to the bullpen silently. She was tired and frustrated. She stayed up till the middle of the night talking to Danny's wife Lisa. She was trying to persuade Lisa to forgive Danny. She knew that Danny's mistake was unforgivable and he hurt Lisa badly but she still had a chance. The divorce wasn't finalized yet and Michelle thought that she could convince Lisa to take Danny back. However, last night proved her wrong. It was obvious that Lisa wasn't going to forgive Danny anytime soon.

Michelle couldn't blame Lisa; she would have done the same. What really angered her was Lisa's reaction to Danny's attempt to commit suicide. She refused to let Danny see the kids. Not just that but she said that she would bring the matter to court's attention and prevent Danny from seeing his kids for good.

Michelle knew that if the matter was brought to court's attention, Lisa would win the custody and Danny would see his kids once a month under supervision. Michelle didn't want that to happen to her brother and spent the night arguing with Lisa but it was in vain. Lisa was angry with Danny and wanted him to suffer just like she did. The best Michelle could do was to offer Lisa a deal, Lisa would let Danny see the kids once every two weeks but Michelle had to be there.

Michelle entered the bullpen and a smile appeared on her face immediately, Tony was at his station talking on the phone. After a week of working side by side with him, Michelle was sure that he didn't know about Nina. He was so honest and simply sucked at lying.

Michelle felt a strange desire to know everything about Tony. She didn't know why but she felt as if something was attracting her to him. He was a good man and she wanted to gain his trust and become his friend. She knew it would be difficult but she was determined to succeed.

Michelle noticed that Tony was acting strangely; he looked nervous and kept glancing at his watch as if he was afraid of being late for something. She contemplated asking him but decided against it. They weren't close and she thought it would be awkward.

Michelle stared at Tony for a while then went to her station. Cassie stopped by minutes later to greet her. Cassie and Michelle became friends quickly and even had lunch together a couple of times.

Michelle figured that Cassie might know what was wrong with Tony. She was a close friend of his: "um, Cassie. Do you know what's wrong with Tony?"

Cassie's eyes clouded as she turned to look at Tony: "Nina's trial is today". Michelle bit her lip; she knew how much Nina hurt Tony. She saw it in his eyes although he tried to hide: "Is he going to testify?"

Michelle noticed the stupidity of her question the second the words left her mouth, Tony was Nina's boyfriend and according to what Cassie told her, he was the only one who knew pretty much everything about what happened that day.

To her surprise, Cassie answered her immediately. Michelle was expecting a sarcastic look or a raised brow but Cassie just replied: "He's the key witness. Jack isn't going to testify. Milo doesn't know what happened before Jack's return. Mason and Alberta's information isn't enough. The only people who knew were Jack, Tony and Nina. The entire case is basically based on Tony"

Silence engulfed them until Cassie broke it: "I better go". Michelle nodded and Cassie left as Michelle turned to look at Tony.

Tony rubbed his face tiredly, he woke up at 4 a.m and couldn't go back to sleep so he went to CTU. He arrived there at 5 a.m and had been working since. He knew he was drowning himself in work in order not to think about the trial, not to think about _her_ and what happened that day.

Thinking about that day sent shivers through Tony's spin. He came here to prevent himself from thinking about that day but he was failing miserably. He leaned back in his chair and decided to give himself a break. He looked around and his eyes caught Michelle's. She was looking directly at him and he just stared at her. Her eyes were warm and he got lost in them.

Tony kept looking at Michelle for a while then averted his gaze as his mind screamed at him: "what the hell are you doing? She is your co-worker and you saw the result of intra-office relationships……."

Tony froze and his eyes widened in shock. Relationships, he was thinking about relationships after what happened with Nina. Not just that but he was thinking about Michelle in particular. He couldn't understand how or why. He met her a week ago and knew nothing about her, except that she was smart, polite, honest and beautiful. She had the most beautiful eyes he had seen in his entire life.

Tony shook his head trying to block his thoughts. He couldn't believe himself. He discovered that his girlfriend was a double agent and murderer but he didn't learn his lesson. He was thinking about the beauty of another woman, a co-worker whom he knew nothing about. How could he trust her? How could he be sure that she wasn't another Nina? How could he know that she wasn't hiding a terrible person under that angelic façade?

Fortunately, Mason stopped preventing Tony from driving himself nuts: "We have to go, ready?" Tony nodded: "yeah, just give me a minute. I need to give these to Michelle"

Tony went to Michelle's station and she turned to look at him: "I'm leaving with Mason and Milo for a while. You're in charge now. Keep those files with you, Division might ask for them"

Michelle could tell he was struggling to maintain his composure so she decided not to give him a hard time by asking many questions, she wanted to know whether somebody is coming from Division to take over or not and what was in those files. Instead, she just smiled and nodded.

Tony was about to leave when Michelle whispered: "good luck". He turned to her and she held her breath. It wasn't a big deal but most of her former superiors at Division and District would have lectured her on "how to address your superior". She hoped that Tony wouldn't do the same. Deep down, she had the feeling that he wouldn't. He wasn't like that; he was a very nice guy. Even if he thought it was inappropriate, he wouldn't make it a big deal.

Tony was surprised when he heard Michelle's whisper. He expected her to know about the trial because secrets simply didn't exist in CTU. However, he didn't expect her to wish him luck. It was obvious that she was sincere. She wasn't just trying to be nice with the boss.

Tony looked at the floor for a second searching for words. He was really touched with her words: "thanks Michelle. I appreciate it" with that he turned and headed towards Mason and Milo.

They arrived at the court house an hour later. The Federal prosecutor Ralph Edwards was waiting for them. Ralph was a good friend of Anna's and Tony could have sworn that she gave him a call by the way he was treating him.

Ralph explained to them quickly what he was going to do: "I'll start with Milo then George. I'll keep you Tony to the end. There will be some loose ends that I'll need you to fix"

Tony nodded as he rubbed his face, his nervousness was increasing by the minute: "what will her lawyer try to do anyway Ralph? It's not like there is much to be done"

Ralph smiled: "exactly. We have everything we need. He'll just try to reduce her sentence. You know, bring people who can prove that she did help Jack and CTU"

Tony narrowed his eyes as he recalled several incidents. He sat down and said with a heavy sigh: "Alberta Green, Elizabeth Nash and possibly Senator Palmer". Ralph nodded and Tony understood. Ralph had already received a list of the defense's witnesses and those three were among them.

Tony sighed in frustration: "Are you sure you don't need any more witnesses?" Ralph shook his head: "yes, I'm sure. I can build the case with only you and the video tape. Plus, we don't want to execute her. She has valuable information"

Tony flinched at the mention of the word "execution". He couldn't believe that they were talking about Nina's execution; the execution of the same exact person that he held tightly as she drifted off to sleep two weeks ago. He knew she deserved it but he couldn't help himself. For some reason, he didn't want her to die. Was it love? No, it can't be. She was a traitor to that country. She presented everything he despised and spent his life fighting. He hated and despised her with every fiber in his being.

Tony closed his eyes in exhaustion and Ralph sat down next to him: "relax. It'll be ok. I want to warn you though. Her lawyer will comment on your relationship. Don't let him get into you"

Tony nodded and buried his face in his hands; he wanted his mind to allow him to rest. He felt Ralph leaving and a while later Milo got called in. When Mason was called in, he squeezed Tony's shoulder then entered the court room and Tony was left to his thoughts.

Tony's thoughts wandered to Nina again. Why didn't he want her to die? It hit him minutes later, it was revenge. He wanted to get back at her and death would be her salvation. He wanted her to suffer and it scared him. He was never one to be pleased with the pain and misery of others.

Tony was losing his nerves when Milo got out: "They are almost done with Mason. They'll call you soon". Tony's heart started pounding violently in his chest. He was going to see her. He was going to look in her eyes and see the same emptiness he had seen when Jack was threatening to kill her.

Tony took a deep breath trying to calm down. Milo noticed his appearance and guessed what was bothering him: "she's not in there". Tony looked at him with confusion so he explained: "She made some comments and the judge kicked her out"

Before Tony could reply, his name was called.


	11. Chapter 11

_Wow, it had been so long since I updated. I'm so sorry but college tends to be distracting. However, I'll try my best to update regularly. Also, one of you said that Michelle's opinion about Danny's attempt to commit suicide may be offensive to those who knew some one who committed suicide as I pictured Danny as a victim or a hero and disregarded his family's feelings. I didn't mean that at all, I admit that I don't know anybody who committed suicide or even tried to. I just think that guilt consumed Michelle that all she cared about was to stop him from trying again. My apologies to those who were hurt by what I wrote. _

**Chapter 11**: Nina Myers told me

Tony entered the courtroom with his heart in his throat. It wasn't the first time he testified against a criminal but it was the first time he was afraid of the trial. His uneasiness increased when he noticed who Nina's lawyer was.

Ken Morris was taking notes with an air of confidence that made Tony cringe. In front of him sat one of the dirtiest lawyers ever. He manipulated the witnesses so easily and freed his clients despite his knowledge of their guilt. Now, the same man who proved Christopher Henderson innocent was going to question him. He wished if Ralph had warned him.

Tony took his seat and Ralph offered him a smile to encourage him. His questions were simple and Tony answered them easily. He was just re-telling what happened the day of the presidential elections. Although thinking about that day and talking about it hurt him to no end, he felt himself relax. Every one of Ralph's questions led to the other which gave Tony a chance to organize his thoughts. Finally, the moment of truth arrived. Ralph finished his questions and Ken stood up.

Ken gave Tony a yellow smile but Tony refused to be intimidated. Ken decided to get to the point and asked: "when did you find out about the kidnap of Teri and Kim Bauer?"

Tony rubbed his face nervously: "around 7:30 AM"

Ken grabbed a folder and waved it around: "well, according to this, Jack Bauer went against CTU around 6:30 which means that you knew after an hour, am I correct?"

Tony nodded so Ken continued: "how did you know about the kidnap?"

Tony sighed: "Nina Myers told me"

Ken crossed his arms on his chest: "so she knew before you did?"

Tony rolled his eyes at the stupidity of the question but nodded: "yes, she gave Jack the information he wanted"

Ken smirked when he noticed Tony's reaction: "so she helped agent Bauer, right?"

Tony shrugged: "well, she….".Ken cut him off: "did she or did she not help him, agent Almeida? Yes or no"

Tony held his gaze for a minute before replying: "no"

Ken stared at him, taken back: "excuse me? But you just said….."

This time it was Tony's turn to cut him off: "I said that she gave him some information, not that she helped him"

Ken raised his brow in irony: "and what's the difference?"

Tony stood his ground: "Nina told Jack what she wanted him to know and hid what she didn't want him to know. She fed him the things that suited her plan. She killed Jamey Farrell when she realized that Jamey could lead us to Teri and Kim. She lied to Jack and told him that Kim was dead then killed Teri. I'm sorry but I don't consider that helping"

Tony's voice was as cold as ice and Ken could tell that his solid exterior hid a lot of emotions. All Ken had to do was to give him a little push to break this mask. Fortunately, Ken knew exactly what to do: "tell me agent Almeida, when did your relationship with agent Myers start?"

Tony felt rage building inside him. He actually dared to call her an agent. Richard Walsh was an agent, Scott Baylor was an agent, and Jack Bauer was an agent. But Nina Myers, she was nothing but a traitor, a scumbag that didn't even deserve to be acknowledged.

Tony caught Ralph's eyes; they were urging him to stay calm. Ralph was shaking his head as if to tell him not to let Ken get to him. He remembered Jack saying that Ken pushed the right buttons. He caused the agents to lose their nerves which gave him the chance to manipulate them.

But it wasn't the same. Henderson was accused of taking bribe not treason. The stimulus in Nina's case was so much more than Henderson's. Tony took a deep breath then answered: "my relationship with _defendant_ Myers started 4 months ago"

He looked at Ken with challenge in his eyes. He wasn't going to lose that battle no matter what. He was determined on bringing Nina down.

Ken studied him carefully. It had been a while since he faced a man like that and he liked the challenge. It wasn't about the case. He knew from the start that Nina Myers was going to receive a life sentence, if not execution. Still, he accepted the case, because of the man sitting in front of him, his worst enemy's brother.

Ken Morris wasn't one to accept losing to anybody, especially to a woman and there was one person he never won while battling with and that was Anna Almeida. He accepted the case the second he heard Tony's name. He knew how close Anna and Tony were and the simplest way to hurt Anna was to hurt Tony.

Ken spoke slowly to give Tony a chance to process his words: "everybody at CTU knew about the relationship between agents Bauer and Myers although both denied it. Everybody knew she dated you because Jack left her. I'm just wondering, what does it feel to be the substitute?"

Ralph jumped to his feet to object but Tony beat him to it. His eyes bore holes in Ken: "you're right. Nina dated me because Jack dumped her. She wanted a new source of information and I was the suitable choice since I was the IP-MAN.I have to admit, she is very smart for a traitor"

Ken sniggered: "and that's okay to you? You were being used and it doesn't matter to you?"

Ralph opened his mouth to comment but Tony threw him a look that made him shut up. Instead he just stared at Ken. He couldn't understand what Ken was getting at. He was evoking Tony but to do what? His only shot to reduce the sentence was to finish Tony's questioning as quickly as possible. He knew too much and that wasn't in Nina's best interest. It wasn't until he saw Ken's eyes sparkling that he understood what was going on. That was Ken's payback. He was avenging Anna by breaking Tony.

Tony had no idea what this whole thing was about. Ken looked as if he was enjoying the trial. Tony refused to answer his question and just stared at him. Ken wanted to taunt him and he knew it. Nobody said a word as they looked between the two of them. They were in some kind of a staring contest. Each of them refusing to give in and just waiting for the other to back off.

Ken decided to change tactics when he noticed that Tony wasn't fazed: "what was Teri Bauer doing in CTU?"

Tony bit his lip: "I brought her"

Ken gestured to him to go on and he swallowed with difficulty. That was the part that he wanted to avoid talking about but Ken wasn't going to let it go. He sighed before continuing: "an assassin working for the Drazens was about to kill her but I took him down. I couldn't take her to a safe house because our safe houses were compromised. CTU was the safest place so I took her there"

Ken stayed silent for a second. He had Tony's attention and it was the perfect time for the final blow: "you led her to her death. I hope you can live with yourself"

Ralph objected immediately and the judge sustained the objection. Ken threw his hands in the air in mock surrender: "I'm sorry, that was out of the line. I have no more questions"

The judge dismissed Tony and gave Ken a break to prepare his first witness. Ralph took off after Tony. Ken may have apologized but the damage was already done.

Tony left the court room in a daze. Ken's words kept ringing in his head driving him crazy. He heard some one calling his name and turned to face Ralph. He didn't give him a chance to say anything: "I don't want to talk about it"

Ralph noticed the pain written all over Tony's features. Tony turned around and avoided eye contact. It was obvious that he just wanted to leave. Ralph sighed heavily; a call to Anna was in order.

* * *

Michelle slammed the phone set in frustration. Ryan Chappelle really knew how to be a pain in the neck. He called five times asking about Mason despite his knowledge that Nina's trial was today. Michelle couldn't understand why he wasn't going to testify. It would have made things easier for her.

A tap on her shoulder pulled her out of her brooding mood. She raised her brow at Cassie enquiring to be told what was wrong. Cassie smiled at her apologetically: "we have a problem in IT. Something is wrong with the servers"

Michelle heaved a sigh: "can you fix it?"

Cassie nodded: "I can and I did .However, we lost some data. I need you to contact Division to retrieve them"

Michelle buried her face in her hands: "a call to Division. Lucky me"

Cassie laughed: "you do know that you used to work there, right? I mean come on; you got transferred here two weeks ago. You're used to dealing with their usual crap"

"Doesn't mean I like it", Michelle mumbled miserably:" when is Mason returning anyway? Chappelle called asking to talk to him several times and I can tell you this, I'll kill myself if I had to explain to him for the SIXTH time that Mason isn't here because his testimony had been required in Nina Myers' trial"

Cassie smiled, pointing behind her: "then your salvation had just arrived"

Michelle turned to see Mason, Tony and Milo entering the bullpen. She creased her brow when she noticed the look on Tony's face. She exchanged a worried glance with Cassie then stood up and made her way to the trio: "Mr. Mason, Mr.Chappelle wants you to contact him immediately. He said it was urgent"

Mason rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath that didn't reach Michelle's ears. He climbed the stairs to his office without giving her a chance to continue. She turned to Tony and Milo and Milo just shrugged and went to his station. Tony was rubbing his face and Michelle watched him intensely. He noticed and scolded himself for letting his uneasiness show. He tried to hide it quickly: "did something important happen in the past few hours?"

She shrugged while following him to his station: "you mean other than Chappelle calling five times?"

Tony smiled lightly at her as she continued: "not much. Division asked about the files you gave me. They want you to call them back. There was a problem in IT. Cassie fixed it but they lost some data. I'm about to call Division to retrieve them. That's pretty much it. Things have been quiet around here"

Tony nodded and logged into his system. Michelle wanted to ask him if he was alright and what happened at the trial but hesitated. He noticed her lingering beside his station and raised his eyes to her: "something else?"

Michelle stared at him at a loss of words. Her courage failed her and she found herself saying something completely different: "do you think it's serious?" At his confused look, she explained: "the situation with Chappelle, he said it was urgent"

Tony eyes her for a minute. For some reason, he had the feeling that she wanted to say something else. He realized he had been staring at her when she blushed and lowered her eyes to the floor. He attempted to act casually: "I don't know. I mean, status reports are urgent to Chappelle so….."

He trailed off and she smiled at him brightly then left with his eyes on her. What was wrong with him? He refused to talk to Milo and Mason on the ride back to CTU and was very tense then after talking to Michelle for five minutes, he relaxed. His ringing phone cut his trail of thoughts. He picked it up with a sigh, he would figure out an answer to the question that bothered him later. He wanted to know what it was about Michelle Dessler that made him so comfortable and at ease.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

Tony sighed in irritation, trying to stop himself from yelling at the guy he was talking to. He had been on the phone with that agent for half an hour trying to convince him that CTU didn't ask for any Intel on a terrorist cell. The agent was determined to know why they wanted it and was lecturing Tony and telling him that he had been following that group for several years so he deserved to know.

Tony saw Michelle and motioned her over. She raised her brow at his tortured face and he mouthed: "Division". She smiled mischievously and he rolled his eyes at her. The agent continued yelling in his ear and he had enough of his crap: "looks sir. We didn't ask for anything. If you found that we received the Intel, you could do whatever you want. Now excuse me, I have work to do"

He slammed the phone and rubbed his temples. He looked at her after a second: "who the hell asked for Intel on a Russian terrorist cell?"

Michelle scrunched her nose in thought: "I think that was CTU San Diego"

"Remind me to kill every agent from CTU San Diego later". At her questioning look, he continued: "they caused me a headache. A jerk from Division was so sure that we were the ones to ask for it. I tried to explain that we didn't ask for anything but it was like talking to a brick wall. For God's sake, I can't even pronounce its name" He exclaimed in exasperation.

His tone and the face he pulled made it hard for Michelle not to laugh. She started giggling and Tony grumbled: "glad you find my misery amusing"

Michelle tried to stop laughing in order to get a few words out: "I'm sorry but it's just funny to see another person suffering because of Division. It seems like every time anybody wanted anything from there, they come to me. I'm just glad I'm not the one who had to talk to that one"

Tony shook his head, annoyed with her but the truth was he loved every second of it. Her laugh was music to his ears and the way her eyes shone with delight drove him crazy. They reached the point where they can call themselves friends but it sounded wrong to Tony. His emotions were mixed when she was around and it frightened him. His trust received a hard blow a month ago. Actually he lost hope in finding true love. His job was demanding and he didn't have much time to meet somebody, not that he wanted to anyway. He was afraid of getting hurt again so he built several walls around his heart and made his world revolve around work.

However, it looked like Michelle was getting past his defenses but he refused to admit it. He was trying so hard to convince himself that he cared about Michelle as a friend and nothing more. He refused to be honest with himself and acknowledge that he liked her. He didn't want to get involved with some one from outside the office and he sure as hell wasn't going to get involved with some one working with him. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice; he _couldn't_ make the same mistake twice even if his heart screamed at him that it would be different.

Tony noticed that Michelle stopped laughing and looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes. She was so beautiful that he struggled to find his voice: "did you get Nicole Palmer's schedule?"

Michelle tried to hide her disappointment. She hated when he did that. She liked to joke with him, it showed her a side that she didn't know about and she wanted to explore it. She wanted to know how Tony acted outside the office, how he interacted with his family. She wanted to know everything about him and tell him everything about her. He was burned badly and she knew that he was wary to let anybody in, especially a woman. That's why every time she got closer to him or knew something new, he changed the subject and asked her about work. It was his polite way of telling her that he didn't want to talk about himself.

Michelle noticed that Tony was still waiting for her answer: "yeah, you want me to transfer it to your screen?"

Tony shook his head: "George will take care of that one. It's the first time she comes since the elections so we better be prepared"

Michelle twirled a loose curl around her finger: "you think something will happen?"

Tony fought the urge to reach out and tuck the curl behind her ear: "um, I don't know. But between dirty people in her father's campaign and terrorists from his past trying to kill him, who knows?"

She eyed him for a second. Every time anybody talked about that day or even mentioned it, Tony developed a cold look. She knew it was to hide his pain. After all, he was the deputy director and had to be a good role model. He shouldn't let his feeling affect his work. She also had the feeling that he wasn't one to let his emotions show to anybody. It was his character to keep everything bottled up and hidden from most people, except the people he trusted and loved dearly.

Mason's voice interrupted her thoughts: "we have a situation in UCLA.I want all department heads in the situation room in five minutes"

Tony and Michelle shared a look before heading to the situation room. Things had been quiet since the elections. President Palmer triggered an investigation after what happened. He wanted to know how DOD rescued Victor Drazen and how Nina and Jamey managed to obtain such high posts. He was determined to get to the bottom of it and find who was involved. District was squeezing Chappelle and Hammond so they squeezed CTU. They were checking everybody at CTU with every intention to fire who ever had suspicious activity. Division had been handling most of the cases and giving them the ones they could handle in their sleep. Chappelle was supposed to come the next day to tell them his decision. Nobody knew about that safe the two of them and Mason as they were the first ones to be checked and cleared.

Tony and Michelle took their seats as Mason entered: "we have a hostage situation. Twenty minutes ago, a group of terrorists took some med students in UCLA hostages. They threatened to kill a hostage every hour if we didn't follow their demands"

"What do they want?" Tony enquired.

Mason fingered the file in his hand: "we don't know. They'll call again in a while"

Tony creased his brow in confusion, something didn't sum up. All terrorist made their demands in the first call. Their wait didn't make any sense: "how many terrorist are we talking about?"

Mason looked at him without a word and Tony sighed in frustration. That's another thing they didn't know. He heard Michelle say: "do we have an ID on any of them?"

Mason shook his head and Tony snapped: "what _do_ we know George?"

Mason sighed: "there are about forty students in that class along with their professor. The group barged in after killing two students and a librarian. The library is opposite the class room. It looks like they were there. LAPD and a team from Division just arrived. The gun shots were heard all over the university. We've to find out who those guys are ASAP. The problem is that they are wearing masks"

Michelle took some notes as she asked: "do we have surveillance?"

"Not yet" Mason's answer surprised Tony: "then how did you know that they were wearing masks?"

Mason smiled, satisfied that Tony didn't miss a beat: "we've an eye witness"

Tony raised his hand to stop Mason: "hold on. We have an eye witness but we don't' know how many terrorists are we dealing with?"

Mason rubbed his eyes: "she's in a very bad shape. She saw her friends die and LAPD officers freaked her out. She is on her way. I want you to question her and find out everything she knows"

There was a knock on the door and they turned to see Elaine: "excuse me Mr. Mason. The hostage situation in UCLA, it's all over the news"

Mason exhaled sharply and turned to them: "alright people. Let's go"

Everybody left and Tony walked with Michelle to her station: "I want that girl's file. She's our best shot and I don't want to scare her". Michelle nodded: "I'll bring it t you as soon as I have it"

* * *

"Tony, the girl is here" Tony raised his head just in time to see the girl. She was beautiful with a short blond hair and blue eyes. She looked terrified and was hugging herself. Michelle followed her with her eyes till she disappeared in holding one then handed Tony a file: "her name is Laura West. The class that was taken hostage is hers. She has one brother, Tom. He's in high school. Her father is a law professor and her mother owns an art gallery"

Tony took a quick look at the file then stood up but Michelle stopped him: "want me in the observation room?"

He shook his head: "she's a scared kid Michelle, not a terrorist. You have better things to do"

His phone rand at that moment: "CTU, Almeida"

"I want you and Michelle in my office" Tony turned to look at Mason and decided that he didn't like the look on his face: "we're on our way"

Michelle looked at him questionly and he motioned her to walk with him. They climbed the stairs to Mason's office to find him pacing: "we got a problem"

Both stayed silent waiting for him to explain: "I just got off the phone with Ryan. There is a possibility that Senator Adam Fantau's daughter Lucy and Ralph Edward's brother James are in that class but we're not sure"

"They are" Mason and Michelle stared at Tony in surprise: "that's why they haven't asked for anything yet. They were waiting for us to find out. They didn't pick that class randomly. They knew Lucy and James are in it. They're making us sweat for a while"

Mason dropped on his chair: "that complicate things further. We're not just dealing with a punch of terrorists; we're dealing with an organized group". He fell silent for a moment: "alright, we've to make sure they're actually in there. Michelle, contact Baker and brief him. Tony, got anything from the girl?"

Tony shook his head: "didn't even begin. Listen, I think we should identify all the hostages. We don't need any more surprises"

Mason nodded in agreement: "get Milo on it and tell me when you get anything"

* * *

Tony entered the holding room and greeted the guard. He looked at the girl sympathetically; there was so much pain and guilt in her eyes and he could relate. He spoke in a quiet voice to avoid scaring her further: "Hi Laura. My name is Tony Almeida. I'm a Federal agent and I want you to answer some questions, okay?"

Laura stayed silent so he sat down and tried to soothe her: "I know you're scared but it's over. Nobody is going to hurt you. you have my word but I need your help. Your friends are in danger, they need your help. You don't want anything to happen to them, right?"

She eyed him wearily then nodded. He smiled, glad he received a reaction: "good. Do you think you can answer some questions for me?"

She nodded again so he continued: "can you tell me what happened?"

She took a deep breath:" I was leaving my dorm when one of my friends stopped me. We chatted for a while then I realized I was late. I rushed to my class and that's when I saw them"

She started to cry and Tony wanted to go to her but stopped himself. He wanted her to get everything out and was afraid that she would stop talking so he stayed where he was and listened to her: "they were leaving the library. Kim and Scott were in the hallway and Kim screamed when she saw them. They shot them then entered the class"

She was crying so hard that Tony couldn't take it any more. He moved to her side and put his hand on her shoulder gently: "shh. It's okay. It's over"

Her anguish suddenly turned to rage and she pushed him away and screamed: "how could you say that? It's not okay. I watched them kill two of my friends and did nothing to stop them. I'm a coward"

"There was nothing you could have done" Tony tried to reason with her: "if they knew you were there, they would have killed you too. Kim and Scott wouldn't have wanted that. They would have wanted you to stay alive. Maybe you couldn't save them Laura but you have the chance to save your other friends and make those criminals pay for killing Kim and Scott"

Tony could tell that his words got to her as she calmed down. She raised her head and spoke in a small voice: "what can I do?"

Tony sat down and smiled at her: "just answer my questions. How many men did you see?"

"Four but….."She looked unsure and Tony signaled for her to continue:" the door to the class was opened and I think I heard a few gasps and screams. I'm not sure though, the shots were too loud"

Tony rested his head on his hand muttering: "how the hell did they go in without anybody noticing them?" An idea popped in his head and he raised his eyes to meet Laura's: "did you hear any shots before you got there?"

She shook her head and he smiled, having created a theory. He stood up startling Laura: "thanks you so much Laura. You helped us a lot". He smiled at her warmly then left looking for Mason.

* * *

Tony found Mason in the situation room with Michelle: "was the librarian shot?"

Both returned to him, not understanding what he meant so he repeated his question: "you said they killed two students and a librarian. Was the librarian shot?"

"No" Michelle answered his question: "they slit her throat, why?"

Tony's eyes shone as he began to explain his idea: "Laura said that she saw four men and she thinks there were more in the class room. How did a group of masked men enter the university?"

"They didn't" Michelle began to understand where Tony was coming from: "they were dressed causally. They must have stored the masks and the weapons in the library"

"Exactly" Tony exclaimed: "they entered the library quietly and slit the librarian's throat so as not to draw attention. They changed in the library which means that the clothes they were wearing are stashed there some where"

Mason picked up the phone ordering a Forensics team to be sent to the library. He hung up and turned to Tony and Michelle: "you think they left a trace behind?"

Tony sat down as Michelle replied, her word dripping with enthusiasm:" they must have. They wore those clothes for a while so there must be something, a hair sample or DNA"

Mason linked his fingers in front of his face looking at his two top agents. That was their only shot at identifying that group. Milo entered with the IDs of the hostages. Mason questioned him with his eyes and he nodded confirming that Lucy Fantau and James Edwards were in that class.

Mason noticed that Milo neither left nor said a word. He was just shifting his weight from foot to foot as if contemplated saying something: "something wrong Milo?"

Milo sighed and lowered his head to the floor: "I found some one familiar in that class". He fell silent again and Mason lost his patience: "for God's sake Milo. Just spit it out. Who is it?"

Milo raised his head slowly to meet Tony's gaze and whispered: "Amy Almeida"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

Tony's head snapped up at the mention of his sister's name. He stared at Milo in disbelief: "That's not possible; my sister is in Law school. What the hell would she be doing in a med class?"

Mason turned to Milo in confusion and asked: "Is the identification accurate?"

"Very" Milo replied in the affirmative. At Mason's questioning look, he explained: "Baker managed to get a camera in. The feed is clear and chances for mistakes are non existent"

"But why would she be there?" Michelle reasoned: "Guys, you have to admit it. It's not making any sense". Even during saying that, Michelle couldn't get herself to believe that Milo was wrong. Sure, there was something wrong in the whole situation but it wasn't the fact that Amy Almeida was in this class.

A glance in Tony's direction told her that Tony had the same thought. The look of pain and fear in his eyes shook her to the core and she felt her voice catch in her throat.

Tony breathed in and out slowly trying to get his bearings. He had a lot of questions and there weren't any answers. The only thing that made sense was that Milo was wrong but Tony knew that wasn't the case. He looked at Mason to find him regarding him steadily and he understood. Mason was waiting for him to make a move to judge whether he can do his job or not.

Tony knew he couldn't break down now, even if Amy was actually there. He had to get a grip. For his country and for his sister but he needed to be sure that she was there: "Milo, I want to see the feed"

Milo nodded and moved to the computer. Seconds later, the live feed from UCLA came on .Milo enlarged the picture and Tony lowered his head when he spotted his sister. His expression was all the confirmation the others needed and Milo slipped out, saying he would inform Baker.

Mason sighed in frustration as he considered his options. He could send Tony home but they couldn't afford to lose him, especially during the first real task they had since the presidential elections. In the same time, he couldn't deal with his chief of staff having a melt down in the middle of an active protocol. He needed Tony to focus and he hoped that he would be able to do that. He exchanged a look with Michelle then opened his mouth to speak but Tony raised his head before he could get a word out.

Mason and Michelle took in Tony's face, with his set jaw and hardened eyes and knew he wasn't leaving. Mason cleared his throat: "Tony………"

"I'm fine" Tony's tone left no room for arguments: "I can do my job George. I'm not going to collapse on you. If I did, you can always send me home"

Mason thought for a moment then nodded: "Fair enough. Um, what's the status of our team?"

Tony scratched his face: "They've secured the perimeter and they are working on an assault plan"

Mason leaned back in his chair: "The terrorists will call any minute now then we have an hour before people start dying. Can they move in time?"

Tony flinched, unable to get over the idea of one of those kids dying every hour, afraid to even think about the possibility of his sister being among the fallen victims. He shook his head, refusing to go there and answered Mason: "They're doing their best. With the feed, our chances to get them are good"

"There's something I don't understand" Mason and Tony turned to Michelle as she continued: "They don't know we have surveillance. Why are they still wearing their masks?"

Mason shrugged, signaling he had no answer for that question while Tony swallowed with difficulty: "I certainly hope they wouldn't take them off"

Michelle turned to him sharply, not comprehending what he just said. She stared at him as he asked: "Do you really think they would let the hostages go if they saw their faces?"

Realization dawned on Michelle and she heaved a sigh, that meant that the only way for them to ID the terrorist was through their demands which didn't' comfort her much.

Milo rushed in suddenly: "We lost the feed. They discovered the camera and disconnected it. Baker is trying to get another one in"

"No" Tony exclaimed instantly: "For God's sake, tell him to stop. We don't' know anything about those people.Their reaction could be violent and we don't need any more victims" He turned to Mason and with a deep breath, he said: "We get that camera in; we could be singing the death warrant of more people. They're just a punch of kids George. It's a risk we shouldn't be willing to take"

"But……" Mason stopped when Elaine came on the intercom, informing him that one of the terrorists was on the phone for him.

The second Mason picked up, the terrorist started talking: "Mr. Mason, I've been informed that you're the one in charge so you better listen carefully. Two months ago, a woman called Angela Reichs and a man called Collin Cross were arrested. I want them released with full immunity. When I make sure that you did that, I'll let the hostages go. If you failed to follow my orders, then you better be ready to do a body count. And one more thing Mr. Mason, I don't appreciate people spying on me. You made me extremely angry that I was so close to starting a massacre. I won't tolerate that. If you didn't do as you were told in an hour, three young people are going to lose their lives and their blood would be on your hands"

The second the terrorist hung up, Milo got on the phone with Baker, telling him to abort. Mason stood up and faced them: "I want everything we have on Angela Reichs and Collin Cross and I mean everything. Tell me the second you get something. I've to update the president"

* * *

Michelle headed back to her station to look up Cross. The terrorist's last words to Mason were echoing in her head and she felt her chest tighten. Three people were going to die within an hour, three _kids_ who had their whole lives ahead of them and those bastards were going to cut it short. 

She ran her hand through her hair, urging herself to focus at the task at hand. A look in Tony's direction made her scold herself for letting her mind wander. He was engrossed in his work with the sole purpose of finding out why Angels Reichs and Collin Cross were important to these terrorists. He was the one with the tie to one of the hostages; he was the one whose emotions were supposed to be running high, making his mind run hundreds of scenarios, each worse than the other. But he held himself tall and pushed his fears and doubts to the back of his mind. He was doing everything in his power to prevent any more people from getting killed and she would be damned if she let him or them down.

Michelle dived in her work, checking out Cross. She was looking up his connections which led her to a maze. The guy worked for the CIA and he had connections with many high ranking agents. She was sifting through the list, trying to determine who would be able to help them when Cassie walked to her: "I just got off the phone with the forensic team. They found a print but it's only partial. They're trying to find a match"

Michelle nodded absently as she continued what she was doing. Cassie looked at her for a second then leaned in: "Milo debriefed me". Michelle turned to her and creased her brow: "About Amy"

Michelle averted her eyes and Cassie glanced at Tony: "How is he holding up?"

Michelle cringed when she remembered the look of pain on Tony's face. She couldn't imagine how he must be feeling and frankly, she didn't want to. There was no doubt in her mind that he was in agony, not knowing whether his sister would make it out alive or not. But he wasn't giving up. Not now, not ever.

She knew that she didn't need to answer Cassie's question. She knew Tony better than Michelle did and she had probably guessed how he was doing. But she did, to ease Cassie's mind and assure her that she didn't need to worry: "So far so good. But things aren't looking up and I don't know what will happen when……."

She trailed off, realizing that what she was saying wasn't exactly comforting but Cassie got the idea and finished for her: "When heads start rolling"

Michelle shook her head, trying to get rid of the mental image the words brought. Suddenly, she felt nauseated and the words on the screen blurred. She closed her eyes for a second then opened them, focusing on the screen. Almost immediately, she noticed something that caused her to mumble a low: "Oh my God"

Cassie stared at her in wonder and Michelle pointed her finger at what she found causing her to swear: "I can't believe that. How the hell no one noticed that 2 months ago?"

"Nobody was looking" Michelle offered and her eyes met Cassie's: "Mason isn't going to like this"

"Mason isn't the problem" Michelle followed Cassie's gaze to Mason's office where he was in deep conversation with Tony. She sent what she found to Mason's screen and stood with a sigh: "I better go brief them"

* * *

Mason and Tony were going through the information Tony got on Angels Reichs. She was a Chemical engineer with the CIA. She was fired a year ago after being accused of stealing toxic substances but it was never proved. She was working with Cross at the time and he was fired for insubordination a couple of weeks later. They worked in a weaponry company called Crane& Lister for the last year. Both were arrested 2 months ago while trying to smuggle those substances out of the country. 

Mason was impressed with Tony; he was taking care of every single detail and wasn't losing it which really surprised Mason. Although Tony was very good at what he did and he was as collected and professional as the rest of his agents, he had a tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve. He wasn't the kind of person who could detach himself from what was happening around him, he could push it to the back of his mind but it would always be there, nagging him.

All that in addition to his sister's involvement left Mason unsure of Tony's reaction. He knew that there was no such thing as "a fully professional agent". The second the family became involved, all the professionalism went flying out of the window. Even Jack Bauer, who was the most detached agent he ever worked with, couldn't stay objective when his family's life was at stake.

But things were worse in Tony's condition. It was no secret that Tony was very close to his family. Mason had seen the prove when Tony's brother Bob was shot during a mission that involved both CTU and the Navy a couple of years ago. Nobody was able to calm Tony down and Jack had to forbid him from even observing the interrogation of the man who did it. Mason just hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with a rerun of that day.

Mason's computer made a peep, signaling the arrival of new Intel but Mason didn't turn. He was focused on Tony who handed him a file: "The problem is there is a personal vendetta behind that whole operation. Ralph was the prosecutor against Reichs and Cross. And the investigation that Reichs lost her job because of? It was triggered by Senator Fantau. Whatever the outcome of that mission George, Lucy and James aren't leaving that class room alive"

Michelle joined them at that point: "We've a problem". Mason nodded, signaling her to continue: "I was checking Cross' phone records and I found a connection between him and a CTU agent. They called each other a lot during the last year"

Mason waved his hand dismissively: "So? He was working for the CIA and CTU had several cases dealing with chemical substances. Plus, Crane& Lister has cooperated with us before. I don't know how they managed to get in but the point is that connection isn't strange"

"Correct" Michelle agreed: "But Crane& Lister worked with us _before_ Cross joined it and there was absolutely no reason for the phone calls. Besides, the last one took place the day before he was arrested. Not just that but Both Cross and her stayed together in a hotel for a week about 6 months ago"

"Her?" Tony questioned and Michelle gulped. The moment she had been dreading since the start had arrived and she had no idea how to strike him with a blow like that. She opted to show him rather than tell him. She moved to Mason's computer and opened the Intel she sent. Beside her, she heard Mason curse. She straightened up and locked eyes with Tony who couldn't understand why she was stalling instead of just telling him. She turned the screen slowly towards him and watched as the color drained from his face.

Tony felt panic overwhelm him the second he read the name. As if the situation wasn't complicated enough, Nina Myers' name had to turn out in their investigation. He stood, unable to move with his lips slightly parted, searching for his voice. His eyes rested on Mason who was rubbing his face in frustration. He met Tony's eyes after a second and he noticed the gut wrenching pain and fear there. He knew he needed to talk to Tony as soon as possible so he turned to Michelle: "Look for any connection between Nina, Cross and any other acquaintance"

Michelle nodded and gave Tony a tight smile before leaving. Mason turned to Tony who all but fell on the nearest chair. He was at a loss at what to say to his top agent: "I'm sorry"

Tony didn't respond so Mason continued: "I know that this is too much to take so if you want to leave……"

Tony raised his hand, stopping him: "I'm not leaving" He managed to choke out and Mason regarded him sympathetically:" It won't accomplish anything. I'll just drive myself nuts and if anything happened to Amy, I would never forgive myself knowing that I could have prevented it"

Mason moved to Tony's side:" Alright, I'll allow you to go back to work but Tony, if you failed to do your job, you're stepping down. I hate to do this but innocent lives are at stake here"

Tony stood up abruptly, startling Mason then moved towards the door. He paused for a second and with a curt nod, declared his acceptance of Mason's terms. He knew that he didn't mean to put more pressure on him or upset him but he had work to do. He collapsed on a chair at his station and took a minute to get his emotions under control. A glance at his watch informed him that they had only 30 minutes before the dead line.

* * *

Tony swore as he checked his watch for what seemed like the millionth time today. They had a meeting with Mason in a couple of minutes and so far he didn't have any leads. He picked the briefing package Elaine gave him minutes before, hoping that it contained something new. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found confirmation that they found a match to the print that was in the library. He went through the package quickly saving that piece of information to the end. The second his eyes fell on the name, he sat straight in his chair. It just couldn't be. He read all the information they had on him and slumped back in his chair when he found that everything matched. 

Tony pushed through the situation room, joining the others. The briefing went fairly quickly but it seemed to Mason that Tony was elsewhere: "Tony, everything okay?"

Tony swallowed hard:" It's about the guy we found his print in the library"

"Sam Carr?" Tony nodded, his face grim and Mason signaled him to continue: "I know him"

Mason took a sharp intake of breath as Tony continued: "We served together in the Marines. He quit about a month before I did. Last I heard, he joined the CIA"

"Why did he quit?" Michelle inquired then raised her brow at the look of sadness that appeared suddenly in Tony's eyes: "His girlfriend, Lily Hastings was in the Marines with us. We were on a mission and somebody tipped the hostiles. She took a bullet for him. She died before reaching the hospital"

"Another personal vendetta" muttered Mason then directed another question at Tony:" How well you know him?"

"You mean does he have a reason to hate me?" Tony countered and Mason shrugged:" No, George. We were friends. Look, I don't know what the hell is going on or why Sam is in there but this whole personal vendetta thing doesn't make any sense. Lily didn't die because we abandoned her or something; she died saving the person she loved so who is he avenging exactly and why wait all these years? This whole thing happened 7 years ago"

"Did you guys arrest the mole who sold you out?" Michelle asked and Tony shook his head:" Maybe he's angry because of that. He thinks that the government didn't care about Lily's death, not enough to try harder to find the one responsible anyway" She offered cautiously.

Tony didn't seem convinced, it was hard for him to believe that the same guy who spent 4 months in a coma for saving his life switched sides. He was about to shoot down Michelle's theory when Cassie's shaky voice interrupted them:" 10 minutes guys"

All of them turned to her, not knowing what she was talking about. She raised her left hand, tapping her watch and realization dawned on them. Milo's computer signaled the arrival of a new message. Tony jumped to his feet and moved to his side. All eyes were on them anticipating the worse:" It's a life video feed"

Cassie and Michelle were on their feet in a second, trying to trace it as Milo brought it on the screen. The image that greeted them made them all stop in their tracks. Three terrorists had 5 girls kneeling with their hands bound behind their backs. The girls' faces weren't evident but the tremors that went through the five bodies were clear.

"Why are there five of them?" Cassie exclaimed in panic:" They said three and we didn't do anything to anger them"

"They're not going to kill all of them" Mason answered:" Those sick bastards, they're toying with them"

The camera moved exposing faces one after another and nobody was able to form a coherent sentence at the fear and despair that were displayed on their faces. When the camera rested on the last one, Cassie gasped and Mason rose from his chair moving to Tony's side. All throats went dry upon realizing that the last girl was Amy Almeida.

Tony was in a daze, oblivious to the others' reaction. He could barely register that Cassie was clasping his hand tightly with her own. He was rooted to the spot, his eyes glued to the screen. Tears welled up in his eyes upon seeing the pure terror that was etched across Amy's face. His baby sister was facing death and he could only stand and watch.

He was suddenly aware of the attempts to make him move. Mason had his hand on his shoulder, trying to usher him outside. He didn't want him to see his sister's brain getting blown out in front of his eyes but Tony had another opinion. He resisted with all his might and gripped Mason's arm:" let me be" His voice cracked with emotion and Mason didn't know what to do to convince him to go.

One of the terrorists began talking, attracting Mason's attention:" We've given you a chance to save these young lives but you wasted it. Now, you get to see them die"

He nodded to one of his men who raised his gun and aimed it at the girl in front of him. Tony's body started trembling and his heart dropped when he saw the barrel of the gun pointed at his sister's head. He saw one of the terrorists whispering something to the one holding the gun. The sound of the gun getting readied was sickening as it echoed in the silent situation room. Tony saw the terrorist press the trigger and involuntarily closed his eyes, unable to bear seeing his sister die. Gasps from around him and hearing his sister's scream after the shot made him open his eyes. The sight that greeted him made him sick. He saw the three girls who were in the middle on the ground, blood pooling around them leaving Amy and another girl to break down.

The leader came on the screen again:" In another hour, we'll kill another hostage. You better do what we said before I lose my patience and start doubling the number of victims"

He disconnected the feed, leaving the room in a deadly silence. Most of the faces were pale after witnessing the execution. Tony's knees buckled from underneath him and he put his hand on the table to steady himself. He took long shaky breath, trying to calm down. His heart was racing and his stomach was in knots. Bile rose in his throat but he swallowed it down. He felt his chest tighten and he knew he needed to get out of the room. He freed his hand from Cassie's grasp and moved towards the door. Nobody tried to stop him, they all knew better than that but as he passed Mason, he felt his hand brush his shoulder in a sign of support. He made his way to an empty hallway, hearing Mason telling everyone to get back to work.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

Tony stood with his back pressed against the wall, trying to get his breathing under control. His entire body trembled and he slid along the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He hugged his knees to his chest and let go of his tears. He was helpless and he hated it. He was a part of one of the most powerful anti-terrorism agencies in the United States of America and yet he couldn't save his own sister.

Amy. Her tear stained face and terrified eyes flashed through his memory and he almost doubled over in pain. She was his youngest sibling, the baby who clutched his finger tightly when she was hours old, the beautiful child who would fly into his arms when he returned from the Marines, the girl who curled up beside him in a hospital bed refusing to leave without him, the teen who missed her prom to make sure he was okay after a horrible car accident, the sister whom he comforted after their father had a heart attack and promised that he would always protect her.

Tony's tears flew harder when he remembered that. He failed to protect her, she would have been dead if……..

Tony gasped quietly as it hit him. The terrorists were toying with the hostages, not with them so it didn't make any sense that one of them pointed his gun at Amy then moved it in the last second to shoot the girl next to her. Amy couldn't see him so it didn't really matter.

Tony jumped to his feet and ran to the situation room. Everybody turned to him when he pushed through the door and he stopped short. He hadn't realized until now that he probably looked like crap. In another time, he would have blushed at how unprofessional he looked but now, he simply didn't care.

Michelle doubled back in surprise when Tony entered. He was a mess, his eyes were bloodshot and his face was puffy. It was clear that he had been crying and that realization cut her deeper than she thought possible. She was tempted to take him in her arms and assure him that everything would be alright and it frightened her. What was it about Tony Almeida that just pulled her towards him and made her feel so strongly for him?

Cassie stared wide eyed at Tony. He was visibly upset which, considering the situation, would be the understatement of the century, she thought. His red trimmed eyes held a swirl of emotions that she was afraid would swallow him whole and break him. He was torn between his head and his heart. On one hand, he had to do his job as efficiently as always to help those hostages and he shouldn't let his feelings cloud his judgment or hold him back. That was his duty and what he signed up to. On the other hand, his sister's life was at stake and anyone who even considered telling him to stay objective was out of their mind. Tony wasn't one to just turn off his feelings and that was part of the reason he was so good at what he did. He was very passionate in everything he did, including his job.

Milo glanced at Tony briefly then turned his attention to the screen in front of him. He didn't know what he was supposed to do or say to his colleague. True he had known him for some time but he always felt left out. Back before the fiasco with the Drazens, Milo had been the newest addition to the team. Joining CTU about 6 months prior to that day, he wasn't a part of the top circle as he liked to call it. It seemed that every time a high risk situation presented itself, only specific people were allowed to participate. Of course technically, everybody at CTU worked together but in fact, Jack, Nina, Tony and Jamie did most of the work in these cases and occasionally, Cassie was brought on board. Milo knew that it wasn't easy to gain Jack Bauer's trust so he accepted his situation and waited for Jack to actually realize that he was trustworthy. To think about it now, he realized that he got it all wrong. There was no circle; Nina was just very good at making it look like there was. She always gave the tasks that she knew Jack would follow himself to Tony and Jamie. She wanted Jack and Tony to be in constant touch so as to throw them off their game and to also give Jamie the chance to get as much information as she can. She allowed Tony to make Cassie participate as bait. She knew that they were friends so it was as if she was telling Tony she trusted him enough to let him bring his friend to their little circle. She succeeded in isolating all of them from the rest of CTU.

Mason swore under his breath when he laid eyes on Tony. The situation was getting complicated by the second and it looked like Tony was already breaking. He was at a loss of what to do. His head told him to send Tony home but he knew that he needed to be a part of this. He wouldn't be able to cope if his sister died with him sitting in his house doing nothing. He would think it was his fault and that would kill him slowly. Mason sighed in frustration. Despite what everybody else thought, he cared about his agents and the man in front of him had enough blows in the last month to last him his whole life.

Tony cleared his throat when he noticed that everybody was staring at him. He wet his lips nervously, knowing that Mason would put up a fight before giving him what he wanted. He turned slightly to Milo: "I want you to play the video of the execution again"

Mason's mouth hung open at his words. Out of everything that Tony could have said, he didn't expect _that_. He suddenly realized that he was wrong; Tony wasn't breaking, he already broke. He was simply out of his mind. He wanted to see the video in which his sister almost lost her life, the one that he almost fainted while watching. After a brief struggle with himself, he made up his mind: "Tony, I…I hate to do this but I have no choice. I'm sorry but I think you should go home"

"I'm. Not. Leaving" Tony spoke slowly, making his intentions clear. Mason lowered his head for a moment then met Tony's eyes again. Tony was surprised to find deep sadness and sympathy and he cursed himself. He was acting as if Mason was Chappelle or Hammond, another jerk from Division whose first goal was to cover his own ass. It slipped his mind that he actually cared. All his actions since the beginning of this whole thing said so. Any other Division jerk would have given him a lecture about professionalism and relieved him from his duties the second he made a mistake but not Mason. He took time to let him know that he understood and he was there for him. He put up a show of being a heartless guy who cared about nothing but the job but deep down, he really cared.

Tony ran his hand through his hair trying to find the appropriate way to explain his need to see the video. He never broke eye contact with Mason who shook his head and whispered: "Then I'm sorry"

Tony understood what he was about to do instantly and his hand jumped to grab Mason's before it reached the phone. He used the other one to knock the phone out of his reach. Cassie, Milo and Michelle jumped in horror but Mason's stare didn't waver: "Don't make this harder on yourself, Tony. And don't forget that you're technically assaulting you superior. If you didn't let go this instant, I assure you, you won't like the consequences"

"Just listen to me George. That's all I'm asking for. Listen" Tony pleaded with him and Mason faltered. He held the younger agent's gaze steadily and Tony choked out: "Please"

His tone and expression really got to Mason. This was very out of character for Tony. Mason had witnessed several arguments between Tony and Jack and Tony never pleaded to be heard. He always blurted his opinion and left, slamming the door behind him. He didn't care for one second that he could get himself fired during one of those fights. But he also realized that most of those times, Tony's opinion was disregarded. Jack had his own way of dealing with things and Tony felt that he was trying to undermine his authority. Jack made it clear that it was his opinion that mattered and it angered Tony. They were together on the same ship and Tony was determined not to let Jack sink it. None of the two men understood the other so it was a battle between the two wills.

However, that wasn't the situation here. Tony wasn't fighting to gain his deserved respect, he wasn't fighting to prove himself qualified to be part of the decision making as he should have been ions ago. He already achieved all this. He was just asking for a chance to explain something he clearly believed would help them and Mason couldn't deny him that. God knows that he deserved it.

Mason nodded and cocked his head towards a chair: "Sit down". Tony heaved a sigh of relief and sat down. The others followed his lead and waited for him to speak: "Those bastards had 5 girls instead of 3 because they were toying with them. They had no intention to play with us or the rest of the hostages so why didn't Amy got shot? She clearly couldn't see the gun pointed to her head, we could and the rest of the students could but not the girls. It wasn't another trick to inflict more pain on the hostages. Something happened that stopped that man from shooting Amy. The only thing that happened in front of our eyes was that guy whispering something to the one with the gun. My guess is that he told him not to kill her"

"But why?" Michelle wondered and Tony shook his head: "I have no idea, that's why I need to see the video"

All eyes turned to Mason as he went over what Tony said. He was right, something didn't add up: "Milo, let's see the video"

Milo squirmed in his seat, not liking the fact they had to see that horrible scene again but he did as he was told. Once the video began to play, Tony gripped the table so hard that his knuckles went white but he didn't take his eyes off the screen, even as the three girls were shot. When the video ended, Tony moved to Milo's side and rewind it then enlarged a picture of the man who presumably saved his sister's life. Nobody understood what he was doing until he brought a photo of Sam Carr and put it beside the first picture: "Look at the eyes. It was Sam, he saved Amy's life"

Cassie's cell rang at this point and she left the situation room to take it as Mason asked: "Does Sam know Amy?"

Tony dropped on a chair: "He met her once about 8 years ago. Plus, she looks a lot like me George. It shouldn't be hard for him to recognize her"

"So let me get that straight, your old Marines buddy is aiding some terrorists who killed three girls in front of our eyes without mercy but he stopped your sister's murder" Milo summarized: "Why would he care? He definitely didn't care about the other girls"

Tony felt the beginning of a headache creep in and he massaged his temple slowly. He still couldn't believe that Sam was working against them but everybody else thought so and he wasn't about to argue with them about it. He was walking a thin line as it is and he didn't need Mason to think that he was letting his emotions drive him.

Cassie rushed in at that point, her eyes sparkling: "I just got a call from a CIA agent. Apparently, Sam Carr is doing undercover work for them"

All of them turned to her in surprise as she continued: "A terrorist named Neil Watson arrived in LA a month ago and they had info that he was planning something big so they sent Sam in. He inflated the group but couldn't find out what was going on. He told them yesterday that Watson was putting the plan in motion but he didn't release any information to his people, just ordered them to get ready for some action the next day. The CIA lost comm with Sam after that"

All of them were stunned into silence as realization dawned on them. Tony's eyes shone as he connected the dots, everything finally made sense:" He would have blown his cover if he tried to save the girls, that's why he didn't do anything"

"But he couldn't let his friend's sister die" Michelle concluded absently

Tony turned to Mason and smiled:" We have a guy inside George. I believe our chances to save the hostages just went up"

Cassie cut in at this point:" The CIA has transferred Carr's line here. If he called or sent anything, we would receive it"

Mason regarded his agents worriedly, he knew that knowing that Carr was on their side had lifted their spirits and gave them hope. But he couldn't shake the feeling of dread that nearly choked him. Carr had to be careful so as not to blow his cover and Mason wasn't sure that he would be able to provide them with anything useful during the next hour. His eyes met Tony's who nodded slightly at him, showing that he had the same worries. But in the same time, he had faith in his friend. The guy managed to safe his sister without arousing suspicion and Tony was sure that he would do everything in his power to give them something.

Mason cleared his throat, attracting the other's attention: "Alright people, we may have a break through but we need to take everything into consideration. Cassie, inform Baker of the situation. I want him to be ready to go in the second we get something. Milo, see if you can get anything useful from the video. Michelle, contact the CIA and get everything they have on Watson. Find out if there's a connection between him and Cross and Reichs……or Nina" he added as an after thought.

The three nodded and left. Mason busied himself by looking through some files while Tony stood his ground, waiting for Mason to meet his eyes. When it became clear that he was ignoring his presence on purpose, Tony decided to talk:" I know I was out of the line before, George and…….Look, once this whole thing is over, I'll take full responsibility of my actions. If you decide to suspend or fire me, well, you have every right to"

Mason remained silent so Tony turned to left but Mason's voice stopped him: "Tony?" He turned to find Mason still going through the files: "switch Carr's line to your station and update me every 15 minutes" Tony shook his head in exasperation and went to his station.

* * *

"Hey" Tony turned to Michelle's soft smile and tried to return it but failed. Thankfully, she didn't comment, just handed him a file. He questioned her with her eyes as he flipped through it: "I didn't find any direct connection between Watson and the others. However, I found a scrambled number that called the three of them about 4 months ago. I traced it to a hotel in DC but there's no way to know who did it" 

"Nina" He threw the file on the desk and explained: "4 months ago, Jack, Nina and I were in Dc for a meeting in District. The logical answer is Nina"

"Which doesn't give us anything consider she's not going to help us" Michelle muttered then checked her watch: "30 minutes, dammit"

Tony picked the phone to call Milo as the computer peeped. He signaled Michelle to check it. She found some numbers and drawings that she couldn't make head or tail of: "What on Earth is this?"

Tony turned to her and stopped short. He dropped the phone and jumped the steps to Mason's office, shouting over his shoulder to Michelle: "Get this to Baker now"

He could hear Mason shouting on the phone from half the way to the office:" My people are pulling their weight Ryan. There's nothing they can do……"

He trailed off as Tony ran into the office: "Sam send us their locations"

Mason's eyes widened:" I'll have to get to you later Ryan" He hung up without waiting for a reply:" You sure?"

Tony nodded:" I just received it. He used the Special Forces code. Michelle is sending it to Baker as we speak"

Michelle entered at this point: "Baker says they'll be ready in 15 minutes"

"Good. Tony, I want you to get the Infra red pictures to try to track them if they moved. I want all of our resources on this. We have one chance, only one"

* * *

15 minutes later, they all crowded around the monitor waiting for Baker to enter. He was going to blow up a wall and take the hostiles by surprise. The video feed showed them the explosives attached to the wall and they heard Baker start the count down. The second he reached one, all of them held their breath as the explosives went off. 

Baker's team swarmed in, aiming at the terrorists locations. Through the smoke, Tony saw Sam take off his mask and open fire. Unable to defend themselves from both sides, the terrorists fell quickly:" The perimeter is secure. The mission was a success. I repeat, the mission was a success"

A cheer rose from all of them as Tony closed his eyes in relief. His eyes met Michelle and he gave her a bright smile making her knees go weak. She made her way to him:" Well, it's finally over"

"Nope, not yet. The best part is yet to come: paperwork" He joked and she laughed at his sarcasm: "It's not that bad. I bet you'll finish it by the time Amy arrives"

He grimaced: "I highly doubt that. Plus, I still have to survive one of Mason's lectures and probably getting fired or, at least, suspended"

Before Michelle could comment, Mason motioned for Tony who followed him to his office leaving Michelle worried sick. She already felt connected to Tony and she couldn't imagine CTU without him. She hoped that Mason would cut Tony some slack considering the situation. If not, she really didn't know how she would be able to cope.

Tony sat down in front of Mason, waiting for him to speak:" You said before that you'll take full responsibility of your actions once this whole thing is over, you still ready to do that?"

Tony felt his temper flare, what the hell that was supposed to mean?: "I think you know me better than that George. I'm a man of my word and you know it"

"Indeed" Mason agreed: "And I also know how close you're to your family and how hard this situation was on you, that's why I'll disregard what happened. However, if it was to happen again, the consequences would be severe"

Tony nodded as Mason continued: "Now, I suggest you collect your sister and go home. I'll be expecting you at the beginning of your shift tomorrow"

Tony stared at him as he picked the phone as if telling Tony that the conversation was over. Tony made his way to his station, fighting to keep his face straight. Always trying to look like a heartless guy George, he thought.

He didn't notice Michelle whose face became as white as a sheet when he started collecting his things: "Oh my God, he actually fired you?"

Tony turned to her and was taken back by the fear displayed on her face. He was even more surprised at the way his chest tightened and the overwhelming desire to protect her from getting hurt. He noticed that she took his answer as a yes and looked even more distraught: "No, he didn't. He actually told me to go home"

Michelle heaved a sigh of relief and smiled at him and he lost himself in her smile. How could such an angle work in a world full of terrorists and blood and death like theirs? How could a flower like her bear to see such horrors and remain standing?

He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice Cassie until she put her hand on his shoulder: "Amy is in medical. They're just making sure she's okay, Tony. Nothing is wrong with her" She added hurriedly before he could panic and he smiled in gratitude. Of course he knew that it's just a procedure but after everything that happened, he couldn't help but be a little overprotective. He bid farewell to Michelle and Cassie and left before Michelle caused his thoughts to spiral out of control again.

He met some of Baker's team on his way to medical and congratulated them on a job well done. He entered the medical ward of CTU and smiled in relief when he saw his sister through the glass window. His smile widened when he saw Sam there as well: "Always the overprotective type Sam"

Sam turned to him with a smile and hugged him briefly: "It's so good to see you again Tony"

Tony batted his shoulder: "Likewise, my friend. Likewise". He headed to the bed where her sister was sitting with a doctor checking her for injuries. Amy stood up ignoring the doctor's protests and threw herself in his arms, burying her face in his chest. He put her arms around her and kissed her head. He could feel her tears soaking his shirt and he rubbed her back to calm her down. He met the doctor's eyes above her head: "Is she okay, Mark?"

Mark smiled at his obvious concern: "Minor cuts and bruises, other than that, she's perfectly fine"

Tony nodded his thanks then addressed his sister: "Come on kiddo, let's get you home"

She nodded against his chest and he led her outside with Sam hot on his heels. Once they left medical, Tony stopped as he saw Baker approach them and turned to Sam: "Sam, I don't know how to thank you. If it wasn't for you……"

He trailed off and tightened his grip on his sister and Sam narrowed his eyes at him: "If your sister wasn't here, I would have punched you for saying that. Amy is my sister too Tony. You don't have to thank a brother for saving his sister, do you?"

Tony grinned as Sam tapped Amy on the shoulder: "Do I get a hug or what?"

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek then returned to her brother who motioned towards Baker: "Sam, I think you've already met Agent Tom Baker, correct?"

Sam nodded and shook hands with Baker: "We need to debrief you so if you would follow me Agent Carr"

"Sure" Sam agreed as Baker turned to Tony: "You too Tony. Mason wants you upstairs"

Tony frowned at him: "He told me to leave. Did something happen?"

Baker shook his head: "He just wants you here when Senator Fantau and Mr. Edwards arrive to collect Lucy and James"

Tony felt his sister tremble at that and he turned to her but she refused to meet his eyes. He figured he would ask her once they were alone: "Alright Tom. Let's go"

The four of them made their way to the bullpen and Baker led Sam to a room to debrief him. Cassie saw them and dragged Michelle who was standing with her to talk to Amy: "Hey you. You okay?"

Amy smiled and hugged her: "I'm fine Cassie. Sorry I gave you guys such a scare"

Cassie squeezed her hand lightly then remembered that Michelle was there: "Oh God, I forgot to introduce you guys. Amy, that's Michelle Dessler. She filled Tony's old position. Michelle, that's Amy Almeida, other wise known as Mimi"

Michelle smiled politely at Amy but she was more concerned with watching Tony. He had his eyes focused on his sister and was studying her intently.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Mason's approach. He nodded at Amy with a quick" Glad you're okay" then addressed them: "Senator Fantau and Ralph Edwards are here so situation room, now" He then turned to Amy: "You can come too, Amy"

Tony noticed the nervous look that spread over Amy's face but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. He knew that something was wrong, something that was related with her being in the wrong class but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was and he knew it wasn't the right time to ask her. He put his hand on her back and guided her to the situation room.

The others appeared moments later and Mason stepped up, introducing everybody to them. Second later, they were joined by Sam and Baker. Words of thanks were passed around then it was over. Everybody left the situation room but Tony who grabbed Amy's hand to prevent her from leaving: "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Amy questioned nervously

He regarded her for a second then spoke slowly and calmly: "You were in a med class Amy, don't you think that's a little weird?"

She looked away as he continued: "You and James Edwards locked gazes the second he stepped in. Not to mention how nervous you got when his name was mentioned so again I ask, what's going on?"

Amy looked at him and saw the warmth and love in his brown orbs. She realized she was worrying him over nothing and she felt guilty. She took his hand in hers and smiled: "You don't have to worry, big bro. It's nothing"

"I can't help it" Came the soft reply and she felt tears prickle her eyes. She knew that it was in his nature to be this protective and she realized that she wouldn't have it any other way. She led him to a chair and decided to tell him everything: "You're right. There is something going on between James and I"

He raised his brow in question and she took a deep breath: "We're dating Tony. That's why I was in his class"

He looked surprised for a minute: "That's it. That's the big secret?"

She nodded and he rubbed his face: "I don't understand Amy. Why didn't you tell us? Did you think that we'll object? I mean, he looks like a decent guy; he's in med school and from a good family. Why did you hide it from us?"

"It wasn't my intention" She exclaimed: "It's still new; I mean we've been dating for about a month and….. You know what it was like Tony. What was I supposed to do? You've just discovered that your girlfriend was a traitor and I was supposed to come in the middle of all that and say: hey guys, guess what? I started dating a new guy"

Her tears were flying freely now and Tony moved to wipe them away: "Hey, calm down a little. I understand why you didn't tell us and I'm sure the others will too. However, I have something to ask you"

She looked at him expectedly: "I want to meet him. You know, to give him the whole" if you hurt my sister" speech" and then maybe rough him up a bit"

She slapped his arm and he chuckled: "Alright, no roughing up. Can I intimidate him though? Come on, at least let me do that"

She laughed then turned serious: "You think mom and dad will be upset with me?"

"I don't think so" He replied honestly: " But if they were, I think telling them you were a hostage less than an hour ago will solve things"

She smiled at him brightly and he brushed her hair out of her eyes: "We just want you to be happy, Mimi. I know that we over react sometimes but you're the youngest and we need to make sure you're happy…..and safe" He added and she responded by hugging him: "I love you too"

He shook his head in amusement and pulled her to her feet: "Come on, let's go face the music"

She held onto his arm: "You'll be there?"

He smiled softly and kissed her forehead, whispering: "Always"


End file.
